The Emergency Powers Acts

Although you may find references to a single Emergency Powers Act, there were in fact two, they were preceded by the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 and several subsequent acts, they were succeeded by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004

The Defence of the Realm Act 1914

The Defence of the Realm Act 1914 is commonly known as DORA. The original act was a simple one, its purpose was to control communications, the nation's ports and subject civilians to the rule of military courts. It introduced a wide range of changes in society including prohibition, censorship, rationing, the introduction of British Summer Time and the widening of police powers. DORA was enacted just four days after the outbreak of the First World War.

The original Act was amended and extended several times over the course of the War on 28 August 1914 (The Defence of the Realm (No. 2) Act 1914), on 27 November 1914 by the Defence of the Realm (Consolidation Act), 1914, this latter repealed the first two acts, itt was further amended three times in 1915, by the Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Acts, 1915.Other DORA legislation included the Defence of the Realm (Aquisition of Land) Act 1916.

The Emergency Powers Act 1920

The Emergency Powers Act 1920 gave the Sovereign power, in certain circumstances, to declare a state of emergency by proclamation. The Act also authorised emergency regulations to be issued by Order in Council. The Act made permanent the powers of the war-time Defence of the Realm Acts.

The exact grounds for such a proclamation by the monarch are defined as:

"...any action has been taken or is immediately threatened by any persons or body of persons of such a nature and on so extensive a scale as to be calculated, by interfering with the supply and distribution of food, water, fuel, or light, or with the means of locomotion, to deprive the community, or any substantial portion of the community, of the essentials of life..."

Upon a proclamation, Parliament was obliged to meet within five days and the Act gave His Majesty in Council, by Order, to make regulations to secure the 'essentials of life to the community' and gave the relevant Secretaries of State the power for the 'preservation of the peace' and the 'essentials of life'. Such regulations would be laid before Parliament as soon as they were pronounced and would expire in seven days, unless Parliament decided otherwise. A proclamation of this sort could be in force for no more than one month.

The Act was first put into use in 1921, by Lloyd George, to break a miners' strike over a wage dispute. The Lloyd George government declared a state of emergency and sent troops to the striking miners' areas. The Act was also extensively used during the General Strike of 1926, after a state of emergency was proclaimed on 30 April 1926 on account of the "cessation of work in coal mines" and emergency regulations continued in force long after the general strike had ceased. The Labour Attlee Government implemented the Act in 1948 and 1949 to proclaim a state of emergency and used soldiers as strike-breakers by getting them to unload boats in London, Liverpool and Avonmouth. The Conservative government also used the Act during the 1955 rail strike and Harold Wilson's Labour Government during the seamen's strike of 1966. During the Conservative government of Edward Heath there were five declarations of emergency under this Act. First in July 1970 over a dockers' strike, second in December 1970 over an electricians' strike, the third in February 1972 over a miners' strike, the fourth in August 1972 over another dockers' strike and a fifth time in October 1973. The last time it was used was in 1974.

The Emergency Powers Act 1964

The 1920 Act was amended by the the Emergency Powers Act 1964, by changing the wording of Section 1(1) of the Emergency Powers Act 1920, to extend its application.  The Act also amended the Defence (Armed Forces) Regulations 1939 which allowed soldiers 'temporary employment in agricultural work or in other work, being urgent work of national importance' by making this permanent.

All of the above legislation was replaced by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.