Leader of the Opposition, /u/WillShakespeare99, today was joined by other opposition leaders in Parliament, and the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, in calling "on the British people to hold mass protests in London on the day that the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill goes to its vote". This comes after smaller protests occurred both in favour and against the proposed measures last weekend.

The Government has been under pressure from the rest of the House of Commons after submitting a series of bills that opposition MPs have generally regarded as regressive. /u/WillShakespeare99's speech today specifically referenced bills to restrict prisoner voting, to raise the age of voting to 18 and to repeal the Protest Policing Reform Act 2017, the latter of which sparked the popular Twitter hashtag referring to the Government as a #TearGasCoalition.

All three of these debates have attracted dozens of MPs to make speeches and join tit-for-tat arguments with their Government colleagues, with B790 receiving 375 entries in Hansard. The Times has reported before on the significance of this bill for Parliament.

When asked for comment, Justice Secretary /u/LeChevalierMal-Fait told The Times, "Protesting is a fundamental right in a free society and the LotO is free to call for protests, I hope the protests if they do happen will be respectful and non violent," before adding, "The government stands behind its measures and with particular note to protest policing reform the government’s aim is to ensure that the police are not impeded in protecting the public or rival protestors by arbitrary restrictions." He also said that the Government may well be amenable to "enter into a discussion about what any new framework should be" but also said "I haven’t been approached by anyone for such talks".

Libertarian Party deputy leader, /u/cthulhuiscool2, told us, "I disagree completely in the opposition's statements especially regarding the Protest Policing (Repeal) Bill. The right to protest peacefully is a treasured British tradition, but no-one has the right to break the law." Like the Justice Secretary, he focused on the prospect of the protests turning violent. "I encourage all protesters to remain peaceful, respectful and avoid causing disruption to commuters and those choosing not to protest." We have received no information to suggest that the mooted protests will in fact look to break the law.

When asked about the prospect of the protests turning violent, /u/WillShakespeare99 told us, “I don't think it likely… we obviously want it to be a peaceful show of opposition, to show why democratic rights and freedoms are so important and valuable.”

The Representation of the People Bill is currently in the amendments committee, with both amendments under administrative scrutiny by the Speakership after a point of order from the author. We expect the bill to go to vote, and perhaps for us to see protests, late next week.

This article has been amended from its original version to note that protests also occurred last weekend