Hundreds of people gathered in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 26 September to protest against coronavirus restrictions.
As schools and universities across the country open up, and those, who are able to, return to work, the number of coronavirus cases have once again begun to rise. This has forced the government to impose fresh restrictions in England. After a seven-week lockdown, which has left many redundant and led to continuing complaints about the government’s mixed messages, it isn’t surprising that many are becoming increasingly restless.
Last Saturday saw masses of people gather at Trafalgar Square protesting against what they term to be a disenfranchisement of their right to freedom. Holding placards with slogans such as “we do not consent” written on them, the protestors were demanding an end to the restrictions put in place to control the spread of the virus. Their claim is that the pandemic is a farce.
The protest began peacefully, but it wasn’t long before violence broke out. Overall, a dozen people were injured, among them both police officers and demonstrators. 16 of whom were also arrested.
This is not the first time the capital has seen anti-lockdown protests take place. On Saturday 19 September 2020, anti-lockdown protestors had gathered for a protest organised by the Resist and Act Freedom, in which key speakers, including conspiracy theorist Mark Steele, labelled the virus a “hoax”.
Conspiracy theories like that 5G is somehow responsible for the symptoms of COVID-19, and that the vaccine currently under production will be a means for the government to control the brains of ordinary people, seem utterly senseless. Particularly given how indiscriminate the spread of the virus has been.
Scientists have relentlessly denied the validity of such theories. Yet, many people still support them.
Why are people lending support?
Anti-lockdown protests have not been limited to the UK. Indeed, the USA, among other countries, has seen similar protests taking place. The protests in the UK against the government-imposed restrictions, have not only been restricted to London.
The serious breaches of the law that have resulted from them will probably have a huge toll on the number of cases and therefore deaths from COVID-19 in the coming weeks and months.
However, the government’s response to the pandemic has done little to placate the anger of the general public. Indeed, despite government loans and the Job Retention Scheme, unemployment is on the rise. Also, U-turns on key policies and the undermining of restrictions from within the government, most notably seen in the Cummings debacle, has unsurprisingly caused people to not take the global pandemic as seriously as one would hope.
The government’s deliberate evasions of questions on its incompetence in dealing with the effects of the pandemic, have only made matters worse. The result is a refusal from the public to comply with what the government advises or even instructs.
But questions are also inevitably raised about the safety of protests. As it stands, protests are exempt from the Rule of 6. And, by law, members of the public have a right to protest, as long as the organisers ensure that the requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) are met and all necessary steps are taken to limit transmission.
However, in a protest organised on the very premise that the novel coronavirus does not exist, there would inevitably be very few, if any, people wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. And with limited treatment and no cure for COVID-19 yet, mask-observance and social distancing are two effective precautions the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends.
So, this casts doubts as to whether such protests should be allowed to go ahead.
Why Do People Protest?
People protest when they see injustice, in order to evoke change for the better. It is a culmination of anger that has been left to boil and overflow. But protests are normally backed by concrete evidence and people take to the streets to set a record straight. They are done to ensure a wrong has been acknowledged and that necessary steps are taken either to correct it or, at least, prevent repetition. After all, this was what the Black Lives Matter protests seek to do.
But in these coronavirus protests, no concrete evidence is present. Conspiracy theories rooted in distrust towards establishment marks them. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that the steps to tackle this virus in the UK have been careless, with changes to restrictions leaving many people perplexed.
So, with the constant undermining of public trust by the state, and its negligent and often reckless approach to dealing with the crisis, the authority of those in power is diminishing. And with the government unprepared to change their ways, it may no longer matter that the anti-lockdown protests aren’t based on impartial evidence.
With every slip-up, every U-turn, and every evasion of questions that the government makes, the protestors may be gaining even more credibility.