Local Tory MPs this week voted for an authoritarian police power grab which will significantly curtail the right to peaceful protest.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill significantly extends the police's powers to restrict demonstrations if they are deemed to "impact" those nearby. By vastly reducing the criteria currently necessary for restrictions to be enforced, and gifting the Home Secretary the power to decide what constitutes "serious disruption", the Bill could see citizens stopped from exercising their democratic rights for being too loud - and landed with up to 10 years in jail.
Independent Councillors running Malvern Hills District Council have u-turned on their previous policy of providing free electric car charging points in the Priory Road Car Park in Malvern Town Centre.
The charge will be brought in after new replacement charging points are installed in the car park and will be charged at 26 pence per kWh. Car parking charges from ticket machines for electric car users would remain the same. Electric car users would have to pay more to use the District Council's car park when charging their car than people using higher polluting diesel or petrol cars.
