Kmflett's Blog

Peterloo in 1819

London Socialist Historians Group

11^th March 2026

Contact LSHG Convenor Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

Historians say the right to protest has been hard won & must be protected

The London Socialist Historians Group, the long established group of research historians, has said there are serious concerns about the Home Secretary’s decision to ban the annual Al Quds march on Sunday.

While the march has a focus on Palestine it’s also one of support for the current Iranian Government. It has not previously been banned over 40 years and a ban now looks at best like a degree of acceptance of Trump’s war on Iran.

However while these questions can be debated there are wider issues

There remains an urgent need to protect the right to protest from an ever more authoritarian Government. As the Metropolitan Police have reminded us there is no actual right to march. The ability to do so can only be protected in practice.

The lobby to ban marches remain active and it is notable that Lord Walney has again supported a ban on the Al Quds march. He unveiled a long delayed report on protest commissioned by the previous Tory Government at the House of Commons in 2024 which was chaired by Lord Mandelson.

The historians say there is a long history of fighting for and defending the right to protest

After Peterloo in Manchester on 16th August 1819 where a demonstration for the vote was broken up by soldiers with many protesters left dead and injured Governments have tended to the view that allowing democratic protest is better than provoking confrontation. However that has never been a settled view and from time to time demonstrations have been banned.

On 6th May 1867 a mass protest for the vote in Hyde Park was banned and the Government called in troops. However the demonstration was so large that they were overwhelmed. The Home Secretary Walpole resigned and a Second Reform Act extending the Suffrage was passed.

Socialist Historians Convenor Dr Keith Flett, there is a lot of very recently invented history being used here on why one particular march must be banned while in the recent past fascist marches in central London which have ended in street violence have been permitted. The right to protest requires continued vigilance and exercise against authoritarian Governments whether Tory or Labour.