Now, I doubt the sincerity of that regret, but the fact that they're choosing that message at all means there's no cause for a devil's advocate here. It's a bad law, poorly implemented.
Yeah, there was a little backlash this time. The police have issued an apology, maybe a few front line officers will be disciplined (somewhat unlikely), then it'll all be forgotten and next time it will barely make the news, and after that its just an everyday occurrence.
The opposition (Labour) party is refusing to say they will repeal the legislation if they win the next election, they haven't said they won't, that's not the politicians way, but what they did say was “We can’t come into office, picking through all the conservative legislation and repealing it” [0].
make no mistake this isn't a law our government wants, its a law our parliament wants, both sides of the house, and it is here to stay, whether we the people want it or not.
It's almost like people that want power and control become politicians to enact laws that give them power and control... Maybe we need some kind of checks and balances on the power of parliament, or maybe, the desire to be a politician should make you ineligible for the role.
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/08/labour-urge...
They're fascists. That used to be hyperbole, but now they're actually arresting people for their peaceful opinions on the government.
People should hold up a blank piece of paper, that echoes what people do in russia to protest against the war.
https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/russian-police-arrest-...
And he whole society is shifting in the process, the public becomes more tolerant of the erosion of liberty. While the government starts to clamp down on our freedoms more than ever before. That is how we arrived at the place we are at now, with widespread mass surveillance and censorship.
All supposedly accepted by the public in the name of "safety". With the public maybe so accustomed to that feeling of supposed safety that they might actually oppose rolling back the surveillance in some cases?
The US’ freedom of expression rights are so much stronger than any other state I’m aware of that calling them extreme is quite accurate. There’s nothing like the First Amendment in any other country.
Many of the other countries in the world are collectivist. The recent shift in the Overton Window is a regression towards pre-Enlightenment values.