MORE than 100 people from across Powys and Montgomery descended upon Newtown on Saturday to protest against the controversial 'Police Bill', which would ban loud demonstrations.

Members of the main parties of opposition joined with activists for groups such as Travellers – who would be effectively banned from setting on land under the bill – to protest the UK Home Secretary’s ‘Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts’ (PCSC) Bill.

Attendees from groups including Montgomeryshire Labour Party, Plaid Cymru Maldwyn, Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Extinction Rebellion all gathered in Newtown High Street before marching in the road around the town centre’s one-way-system.

The procession ended up in Newtown Park, where representatives of the different groups gave speeches on a PA system.

Kait Duerden, from the Montgomeryshire Labour Party, said: "The town I grew up in has a memorial to the workers shot in the 1842 Chartist uprising.

"The plaque on it reads 'remember that progress towards justice and democracy has not been achieved without great sacrifice. Remember to defend vigorously the rights given to you and strive to enhance those rights for those who follow'.

"The PCSC Bill must be resisted – the torch is passed from previous generations to us.

"Oppose the bills. Keep protesting. Our future and the future of our planet depend on it."

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Llanfyllin's Alison Alexander, from BRACE and the Liberal Democrats added: "There is a balance to be struck between the inconvenience protesters cause to the public and the value of protest to society.

"This Bill fails to strike the correct balance.

"That's not just the view of the Liberal Democrats, that's the view of former Prime Minister Theresa May, of Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights and of 109 Professors of Law from top UK universities.

"The restrictions to protest are excessive, the penalties are excessive and the powers the Bill grants to the Home Secretary are wholly unacceptable in a healthy democracy.

"We must not be silenced."

The 300-page Bill makes a wide variety of changes to the justice system in England and Wales, from tougher sentences for killer drivers to provisions allowing court appearances over video conference.

Many aspects of the Bill have caused controversy, including the expansion of police powers to deal with protests, more stop-and-search, and laws about encampments that critics – including human rights group Liberty – say will persecute Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in the UK.

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Some activists at the protest also spoke out against other upcoming Parliamentary Bills, including Home Secretary Priti Patel’s Nationality and Borders Bill, which would give the Home Office new powers such as revoking British citizenship without warning.

Ann-Marie Evans, activist for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller rights, said: "When I was a child, as strikes raged and interest rates soared, many people had their homes repossessed.

"That’s why my parents sold their house and bought us a boat. My parents and I would have been criminalised by Section 4 of this PCSC Bill.

"When the Government asked the Police if they would like these new powers to seize homes, property, pets and children, 130,000 said 'no'.

"I have six beautiful grandchildren.

"Being locked up and unable to be with them is a terrible threat, but we can't change the systems causing destruction without standing up and speaking out.

"Telling the truth should never be a crime."

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