New protest restrictions and how they affect you
Posted: 11th August 2026
From securing votes for women to defending workers’ rights, protest has played a crucial role in driving social change. But successive governments have introduced a series of new laws and police powers making it harder and riskier for people to take part in protests.
The new Crime and Policing Act 2026 builds on this ever-expanding web of protest restrictions and makes it even harder for people to understand how they can safely make their voices heard.
It introduces new restrictions on face coverings and allows police officers to impose restrictions on repeat protests – or even ban them altogether.
Banning repeat protests strikes at the heart of what makes many protests successful. It won’t just impact frequent large-scale marches – it could also restrict emergency demonstrations or the right to organise counter-protests.History has proven that when we come together, bit by bit we can change things for the better. But restricting us to protesting on an issue just once will effectively silence our voices, protect the powerful, and make it harder to achieve meaningful change.
We know it can be hard to understand what legal changes like these mean for you in practice, so Liberty has published new guidance to explain how the Crime and Policing Act affects your rights.
Whether you attend protests regularly or just want to stay informed, we hope you’ll find this explainer useful.
Read the full guidance here Explaining the new protest restrictions
You can also read and share a bite-sized version of the guidance on our social media channels:
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Nazmul Hasan
Legal Information OfficerP.S. If you’d like to help us produce more legal information materials like this you can support us by clicking on the link below.
