Since 2022, UK authorities have gained extensive new powers to limit protest. How have the introduction of these measures affected activists and campaigners, and how does the wider public feel about the changes? Over four in five people in Britain say everyone should be able to protest on issues they care about, so how do we turn that passive majority support into something more vocal?
Social Change Lab and Fossil Free London are hosting a webinar to share insights from our new research looking at what the new laws have done to campaigners’ willingness to protest, and which messages move the public to defend protest rights.
Join the webinar on Thursday 15 October, 17:00–18:00 BST (online).
We’ll share highlights from:
- A survey of 415 UK campaigners. More people have increased their protesting over five years than reduced it, but many have shifted to lower-risk tactics, and legal uncertainty now deters over two-thirds.
- A randomised controlled trial with 3,500 UK adults, testing different ways of talking about protest rights. Currently the sector mostly talks about protest as a precious right under threat — but we found this framing did not move people at all. Instead, showing that protest works did most to make people want to support protest rights.
Whether you’re a campaigner, organiser, lawyer, funder, researcher or simply someone who cares about the right to protest, come along to hear insights from the research and join the discussion.
Sam Nadel, Executive Director
Social Change Lab