Martial Law

So previously the British Army had played with the idea of “Belonging”, in its latest advertising campaign it has shifted to the idea of “Resilience” again playing on the idea of disaffected alienated young people, and, hilariously, suggesting that the army would be some kind of shelter from an economically harsh and racist society.

Here it is:

Forces Watch has been studying the potential imposition of martial law in Britain in the event of a No Deal Brexit result. It’s being reported that ‘war games’ will be held by the armed forces in the coming days before a cross-government exercise at the end of February.

Forces Watch explain:

“Any UK iteration of martial law would almost certainly be based on the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act, which contains a number of provisions for times of national crisis such as that which some fear may occur in the wake of an exit from the European Union.”

“This act was brought into power by the 2004 Labour government. The new legislation followed a series of crises, including the Foot and Mouth epidemic of 2001 and the fuel protests of 2000. Existing Civil Defence and Emergency Powers legislation was deemed to be outdated and was superseded when the CCA gained Royal Assent in November 2004.”

What could happen?

The government could decree that the military stepped in to carry out a wide range of roles which would normally be the job of civilian authorities.

What would the military do?

In the event of civil unrest following Brexit the military could step in to:

  • Occupy urban areas
  • Protect key facilities like hospitals and power stations
  • Carry out checkpoints
  • Stop and search for anyone suspected of fomenting rebellion
  • Stop protests from happening
  • Enforce curfews
  • Enforce travel bans
  • Confiscate property
  • Hold special tribunals
  • Detain without trial or charge
  • Limit the powers of the press to report the news

Be the best.

Comments (15)

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  1. simon cowan says:

    that last bullet p[oint makes me laugh – when was the last time the press actually reported the news?

    1. Freida Dyson says:

      Yes, totally unnecessary bullet point.

    2. Jo says:

      Simon
      My response precisely!

  2. Redgauntlet says:

    New Labour passed that draconian law then, huh? Who would have ever thought it?… “Pooling and sharing”, the “best of both worlds” etc. Every bit as crazy as the Tories, just in a different way. Countries which go to war tend to be pretty repressive at home. I think it could happen, martial law I mean. Nothing would surprise me.

    If it is declared, Mike Small, you’ll be the first in the clanger after the Rev Stu Campbell, along with other jail bait contributors here – George Gunn for sure, he’ll be locked in some Hieland tower… no doubt plenty of your readers will send you food parcels (if there is any food of course) and maybe even go and visit you….

    Not me, man. I got out. I’ll be lying on a beach somewhere come next March, sunning my pasty white body in the sun, trying my best to forget I was born in such a completely fcking crazy island…

    As from March 30th, I consider myself a fully-fledged exile…

  3. Richard Easson says:

    Looks like I’ll be in the glass house before I can throw any stones.

  4. Josef Ó Luain says:

    With little tradition of popular direct-action, I doubt if we’ll ever see civil-unrest within the UK to the extent where the military would have to intervene. What we’re more likely to see is a lethargic desertion of the democratic process by a disillusioned and leaderless electorate. A much scarier prospect, in my opinion, than a few squaddies emptying bins or manning fire-engines.

  5. bringiton says:

    Food shortages,medicine shortages,military rule,shortages of people to perform basic
    public services………
    Vote Tory get armageddon.
    They are toast after Brexit,no one will believe the strong and stable B/S anymore.
    Problem is,we may all be toast along with these maniacs.

    1. Jopat60 says:

      Dont think we will have any voting rights after brexit, it will be a one party state…the conservative unionist party.

  6. Michael Nelson says:

    Army firing range at Pentland Hills has been unusually busy over the past coule of weeks. It has been quiet for months and suddenly a daily occurence. I live about 2-3 miles away and hear small arms fire starting about 10.30 am. I find this strangely unnerving given the rumours flying about recently

  7. Tony Slaven says:

    To say that nothing would surprise me from this government is looking way back in the rear view mirror!
    If this Prime minister thought for one second that bringing the Army on to the streets would make it easier for her to cling onto power for one second longer it would be done. That is her only reason for living!
    Mrs May clearly thinks that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

  8. Willie says:

    Striped pyjamas and gold stars for those who would challenge the new order.

    Otherwise townships for the others who deserve no more in the new apartheid state .

  9. Jim Morris says:

    Things which will be complicated by exiting the customs union: all tobacco products (the good news here is that nicotine addiction physical cravings only last three days as the body burns up residual nicotine in the system, however, psychological cravings last for three weeks or a lifetime, depending on brainwashing); all wine-based alcohols (including Buckfast); designer beers and continental liquors, as well as Martini, Vermouth, Campari etc. We will have extensive stocks of whisky, gin and vodka that we cannot get out of the country, bu who can afford them?

  10. Jack collatin says:

    “This act was brought into power by the 2004 Labour government. The new legislation followed a series of crises, including the Foot and Mouth epidemic of 2001 and the fuel protests of 2000. Existing Civil Defence and Emergency Powers legislation was deemed to be outdated and was superseded when the CCA gained Royal Assent in November 2004.”

    I think that the wold wide Iraq war protests in 2002/2003 scared the shit out of Blair.
    It is estimated that 3 million gathered in Rome to protest the illegal slaughter of 100,000’s of innocent men women and children for oil.
    Any Totalitarian regime would see even their most draconian measures as ‘outdated’ if we all took to the streets.
    We are now living under The Iron Heel of a right wing foreign power (England), it surprises me not that gunfire can be heard in the distance. And please, save your clacking time accusing me of being ‘racist’. You know fine well what I mean. WM crushes Scotland by sheer force of numbers.
    There is no Union, ‘precious’ or otherwise.
    We are treated with the same contempt and disregard by England as we always have been.
    Following Mary Lou McDonald’s ripping Andrew Marr a new one today when she re affirmed what we all knew. Ireland is ‘united’ now as it hasn’t been for 95 years.
    You’d need your head felt if you believe that Brexit is good for us.
    Nissan and Jaguar/Land Rover and Barclay’s are voting with their feet.
    The notion that a bloated Tory MP from the ‘Midlands’ (that would be the ‘middle’ of England, that discrete country to our Southern Border) can take away my EU passport in 8 weeks time against the democratic will of the people of Scotland is the Final Straw.

    Shortages, internment, troops on the streets, press blackouts; Really?
    I don’t think so, not in my homeland,Scotland.
    As for the daft notion yet again peddled by Hang On A Minute Gordon Brewer on Better Together TV, that we hang on until after the 2021 SGE before even considering a second Indyref? Aye right.
    3 years of WM raping Scotland?
    Yes, I have no doubt that once they have taken back control, Holyrood is finished.
    So is Scottish Education, NHS, and the judiciary.
    Scotia delenda est will be the war cry.

    1. Alistair Taylor says:

      I am with you, Jack.
      (As soon as i’m back).
      Well rested.
      Rarin’ to go.

  11. SleepingDog says:

    Well, with the recent revelations about the British armed forces’ ‘relaxed’ rules of engagement (shooting unarmed civilians using mobile phones because they might be artillery spotters), and their racist (and sexist) policies, practices and atrocities covered up by the UK state, such adverts seem to be grasping at non-existent straws.

    British army permitted shooting of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-british-army-permitted-shooting-civilians-iraq-and-afghanistan

    The Forgotten Heroes of Empire
    “People & Power investigates the UK’s scandalous neglect of its colonial-era African soldiers.”
    https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2019/02/forgotten-heroes-empire-190212202052563.html

    I have written to my local MP to ask why the Queen as head of the armed forces (who has responsibility for neglecting the injustices done to colonial subjects affected by these issues since her reign started) has not been called into Parliament to answer questions. If the head of our armed forces should be accountable, and if the UK constitution makes them unaccountable, what changes need to be made to rectify that problem?

    I wonder what that fictitious young woman would do if the story continued, she looked up the British Army online, and found that top of the search engine news was the revelation that based on the colour of their skin, some soldiers were paid a third (less if female) than others, subjected to illegal corporal punishment (brutal beatings ordered by their commanding officers) and in some cases conscripted by force, slave soldiers fighting far from home for an imperial cause they had no stake in.

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