A senior researcher at Human Rights Watch has warned that the United Kingdom is following a path similar to Hungary under Viktor Orbán, where the erosion of civil rights began with quiet legal changes. Lydia Gall, who witnessed the slow decline of the rule of law in Hungary, said she sees an 'uneasy sense of deja vu' in current UK developments.
Over the past few years, Britain has introduced laws such as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023, which grant police sweeping powers to restrict demonstrations and criminalise peaceful tactics. Hundreds of arrests have been made for actions like slow marching, linking arms, or carrying protest equipment, with some activists receiving lengthy prison sentences for peaceful protest.
Gall noted that in Hungary, authoritarianism took root through the steady consolidation of government power under the guise of preserving 'order' and 'safety'. She warned that the UK's shrinking space for protest and dissent threatens democracy, as vague legislation hands discretion to the executive and police, opening the door to abuse.
The High Court last year ruled that then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman had acted unlawfully by lowering the protest threshold from 'serious' to 'more than minor' disruption. However, the Labour government's decision to defend those same unlawful regulations in court was described as a 'troubling signal' that the instinct to control dissent runs deep across party lines.
Gall also highlighted the proscription of the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, which UN experts warned blurs the line between legitimate activism and terrorism. She concluded that the UK can still change course by repealing these laws, but warned that legal frameworks curtailing rights rarely stay idle and can be weaponised by future governments.
