Malachy McKenna

The police state in Britain’s back yard

From Socialist Worker, No. 84, June 1968, p. 3.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.

IRISH SOCIALISTS were not surprised by Enoch Powell’s racialist speech. He is trying to win support from the working class by playing on their economic fears – jobs, houses and wages.

The Tories have played this role in Northern Ireland for years – ever since Lord Randolph Churchill produced his Orange trump card and brought down the Liberal Party. Now the ruling class of Northern Ireland has the working class divided between protestants and catholics, just as Powell would like to divide them between black and white.

Because of this division, the Ulster government has been able to pass such undemocratic laws that even the South African prime minister, Vorster, has spoken of them with envy. These laws are called the Special Powers Act and they have been used against trade unions in the past.

At the moment the Special Powers have been used to ban Republican Clubs which organise tenants’ associations and study socialism. No one has been arrested yet, but it is possible that someone will be in the near future.

The Wilson government has the power to repeal the Special Powers through the Government of Ireland Act of 1920. But nothing has been done. The British government could also legislate through this Act to ensure one man. one vote in local elections.

At present, only property owners can vote, plus limited companies, which have six votes. Tenants in furnished accommodation and those living with parents are disfranchised.

The British government subsidises this state of affairs to the tune of £182m. a year. Because of the police state in Northern Ireland, the British government cannot sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the European Convention on Human Rights on behalf of the British people.

Workers in Northern Ireland are sometimes bitter when they see massive demonstrations in Britain against American imperialism. They feel they are the forgotten people.

Northern Ireland is part of the British Isles, yet the ordinary people there are denied basic democratic rights and are terrorised by armed police and clerical thugs. It is time that the British labour movement came to their aid and organised a campaign to bring this scandalous state of affairs in Britain’s backyard to the eyes of the world.

Here are some of the provisions of the Special Powers Act:

Arrest without warrant.
Imprison without charge or trial and deny recourse to habeas corpus or a court of law.
Enter and search homes without warrant and with force at any hour of the day or night.
Declare a curfew and prohibit meetings, assemblies and processions.
Permit punishment by flogging.
Deny claims to trial by jury.
Prevent access of relatives or legal advisers to a person imprisoned without trial.
Arrest a person who by word of mouth spreads false reports or makes false statements.
Prohibit the circulation of any newspaper.
Arrest a person who does anything “calculated to be prejudicial to the preservation of peace or maintenance of order in N. Ireland and NOT specifically provided for in the regulations.”

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Last updated on 30 October 2020