Hundreds of people have descended on Hyde Park today to protest new rules that make wearing face coverings indoors mandatory.
Masks must be worn in shops and supermarkets in England from July 24th, with those who fail to follow the rules facing a fine of up £100.
Last week several members of the Conservative Party cut up their membership cards in protest to the move, and the reaction seems to have spilled over today.
What to do we want?
— ianVisits (@ianvisits) July 19, 2020
COVID!
When do we want it?
NOW!https://t.co/BuFh5Q28VV
Crowds started gathering at about 2pm ahead of an expected march.
People held placards reading “I will be not be masked, tested, tracked” and “no mask”.
New polling today indicated overwhelming support for the mandatory us of face masks.
Seventy one per cent of adults in England support this measure, compared to just 13 per cent who oppose.
Two-thirds (64 per cent) of UK adults believe face masks are an effective way to contain the virus, and almost half (49 per cent) already wear a mask when going to the supermarket.
so apparently there's an anti-masks-in-shops protest happening in London right now…please don't tell me we're turning into America on that front pic.twitter.com/gLQg5SG3dK
— Anton Volkov (@antovolk) July 19, 2020
Adam Drummond, head of political polling at Opinium, said: “The consistent trend of polling on public safety measures during the Coronavirus crisis has been that the public are much more safety-first than we think and that complaints that public health measures trample on ancient sacred liberties are an extremely niche concern.
“Like the original lockdown measures, making face masks mandatory in shops is seen as effective, reasonable and is very popular with supporters of all parties.”
Related: Five irrefutable reasons to wear a mask
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .