Yes, criminal damage is criminal damage and groups like the suffragettes made extensive use of it.   Sometimes, it seems, politicians need such things to accept people with limited or no rights are entitled to them. That is true in many countries, not just the UK.

It is a fundamental part of the UK legal system that the juries weigh up all the evidence and then decide. If they acquit, they acquit. There are plenty of examples where juries decided the law was inappropriate to the circumstance, or misapplied or in some other way 'wrong'. It can even be an inherently 'bad' law in the eyes of the public while the lawmakers think it fine. If the lawmakers are out of step, expect lots of acquittals, whatever the law.