‘Just went to Parliament Square & held up a blank piece of paper. Officer came & asked for my details. He confirmed that if I wrote “Not My King” on it, he would arrest me under the Public Order Act because someone might be offended.’

These are not my words, but those of barrister Paul Powlesland (in a tweet on 12 September), who was threatened with arrest outside parliament, during the national period of mourning for the Queen, after holding up a blank sign. The exchange with the police officer was partially recorded and posted on Twitter. Peter the Powerless replied: ‘What if you wrote the words very very small (say 10pt) in the very bottom left corner? What if you wrote the words on the back of the paper? What if you write the words on a tiny bit of paper, fold it, and put it in your pocket? We have to know the rules.’

The blank sign soon became a symbol of the right to protest, and I did consider, for a brief moment, leaving the front cover of the magazine blank this month in solidarity. Groups holding blank pieces of paper gathered outside St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, where the Queen’s coffin had been laying at rest. Protesters said the tactic was inspired by activists in Hong Kong who held blank pieces of paper to avoid using slogans under a new national security law.

It’s staggering that in 2022, people in the UK are afraid to peacefully protest for fear of being arrested. Whatever one’s views on the monarchy, the right to protest has to be protected and preserved. Although the story did end on a more positive note, as the media coverage resulted in the police issuing a statement confirming: ‘People have a right to freedom of expression and we must balance the rights of protesters with those of others who wish to grieve and reflect.’

It does feel like the death of a monarch is eclipsing the real crisis for many people: whether they will heat or eat this winter. The cost of living crisis is set to be our next pandemic and the planned tax cuts will not help those who need it most. With a trickle-down rather than levelling-up economic agenda, things are going to get worse for those already struggling. The Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping has warned that the cost of living crisis could have a ‘catastrophic’ impact on homelessness if the government does not act, and that capping household energy bills at £2,500 a year is not enough.

Commission chair Lord Kerslake said: ‘Failure to act could see this become a homelessness as well as an economic crisis and the results could be catastrophic; with all the good achieved in reducing street homelessness since the pandemic lost, and any hope of the government meeting its manifesto pledge to end rough sleeping by 2024 gone.’

The commission is calling on government to introduce a temporary eviction ban. Scotland has already introduced an immediate ban (from 6 September) on rent increases and evictions. There is no doubt that an eviction ban is also needed in England and Wales (see also page 6 of this issue).

At the 21 September memorial of Nathaniel Mathews, a talented and compassionate housing lawyer, we were reminded by Liz Davies KC of the important part he played in the moratorium on evictions during the pandemic through Hackney LBC v Okoro [2020] EWCA Civ 681; July/August 2020 Legal Action 50, which confirmed that the moratorium applied to appeal cases. September 21st was also my Dad’s 80th birthday. I mention it in part because he reads the magazine and will love the mention, but also because of the disparity in their longevity, as with that of the Queen – who at 96 years, lived almost twice as long. Nat, aged 54, died far too early, but his life was spent helping others and that came out very strongly at the memorial. DJ Sterlini said Nat was ‘one of those lawyers that say less and think more’, which must be the best compliment you can get from a busy judge in the county court. But I like best how DJ Sterlini described Nat’s ability to ‘use the law as a tool, like a surgeon uses a scalpel, asking, “How can I use this to make a difference?”’

The disparity between rich and poor, between those who have and those who have not, seems likely to increase under the present government. If there is any ‘trickling down’ it is likely to be slight. We have a legal aid crisis, a housing crisis, a cost of living crisis and a care crisis (see also page 8 of this issue). We will be in need of all of our surgical tools to make that difference.