Dear Tom Tugendhat, MP
We at Tonbridge and Malling Constituency Labour Party welcome the statement you tweeted on Twitter in support of the rightful and legitimate vigil last night on Clapham
Common. We also echo your concern that the powers and action by the police were not appropriate for a peaceful demonstration, especially one being held in memory of Sarah Everard and all women who have been victims of male violence.
We call on you to oppose the provisions in the Police, Crimes, Sentencing and Courts bill that would effectively prevent the legitimate right to protest merely because they are annoying. As someone who on many occasions has called out oppression of rightful protest in other countries, we are sure that you understand that restricting lawful protest has no place in our democracy.
We also call on you to ask the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Justice to use their powers to immediately introduce measures to reverse the increasing backlog of sexual and domestic violence cases, a backlog caused by the closure of courts and substantial cuts
to the CPS over the last ten years. We urge you to make clear to the Prime Minister that an essential step in ensuring women feel safe in our communities, is that all cases are properly investigated and prosecuted.
This would be a fitting tribute to Sarah Everard, Wenjing Xu and all women who have been assaulted or killed.
On behalf of the Tonbridge and Malling Constituency Labour Party