4 November 2025 – Sarah Donaldson

Protesters and the law

Are you free to protest?

We understand protest to be essential for a healthy democratic society, and we celebrate historical figures and movements who stood up against the power of the state. But recent legislation has significantly eroded our rights to protest in England & Wales. These changes have been presented as being for our benefit, assuming that protests are inconvenient and unnecessary. But what are we losing by criminalising the people with the strongest views? And are we at risk when we speak out on their behalf? What avenues remain for legally speaking truth to power in an effective way?

Sarah Donaldson

Sarah Donaldson was a barrister in self-employed practice for over 10 years. In 2017 she left the bar to work for Manchester Quakers, managing their meeting house and conference venue. That building stands on the site of an earlier Quaker meeting house that was there at the time of the Peterloo Massacre, a defining moment in the development of civil rights in England. The current meeting house is a frequent venue for meetings of activist and political groups, and staff are frequently required to assess the risks of holding (and cancelling) such events. In 2023 Sarah left her job to travel round the world, and since her return she has worked for the national Quaker organisation. In March 2025 she was part of the staff team working on the national response to the police raid on Westminster Meeting House.