UK Indymedia - UK UK Feature Archive

New Year solidarity with prisoners.

02-01-2012 17:04

Over the New Year period, a number of actions took place outside prisons and immigration detention centres (migrant prisons) around the world, following a global call-out. The actions were in solidarity with prisoners, and against the Prison-Industrial Complex

UK actions included a noise demo at Holloway women's prison and young offenders' unit, a flashmob at Gatwick detention centres, solidarity demos at Brixton Prison and Bristol's Horfield Prison, and a banner drop and noise demo outside Cardiff Prison. The protests were generally well received by the prisoners, and not welcomed by police

International actions included a noise demo outside the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney Australia, firework displays outside a Nantes youth prison and Montpelier Prison in France, Hamburg Prison in Germany and an Athens prison in Greece. At least two prisons were graffiti'd in Brussels, Belgium.

Full article

SchNEWS: One Strike and You're Out?

02-12-2011 09:24

Wednesday's N30 strikes saw 2 million public sector workers striking and hundreds of thousands marching in Britain's streets all over the country, marking the biggest strike in a generation.

Demonstrations and pickets were held in nearly every major town across the UK, with the largest gatherings seeing 30,000 in London, 20,000 in Manchester, 15,000 in Birmingham and 10,000 in Edinburgh and Glasgow. More than 6 out of 10 schools were closed for the day and some activists from Occupy London stormed the offices of the UK's highest paid CEO, Mick Davis, head of Xstrata mining corporation. Reports are of 75 arrests in total, most of them around the occupation of the Xstrata office and in Hackney, after some demonstrators were kettled for four hours, then taken into custody on 'suspicion of breach of the peace'. [More]

See Also:
OccupyLSX | Day of Action News | IMC uk Timeline

Full article

Your Education is Being Sold: Occupy the Academy!

24-11-2011 20:41

Students have once again begun a round of occupations on university campuses, this time in solidarity with the N30 day of action, and in opposition to the White Paper on Higher Education which will give the private sector almost complete control over higher education and knowledge production.

Update: Friday 25/11: The occupation of the north gate ended last night after Birmingham University gained an immediate interim possession order. There is another occupation planned today where protestors will be doing a 'run for their money'.

At Birmingham University, students have squatted an abandoned gate house on campus. Earlier this month they also occupied the University's Corporate Convention Centre. With scenes reminiscent of the 2009 occupation in solidarity with Gaza, the University attempted to deny occupiers essential supplies of food and water. In the early hours of the morning a crowd formed in solidarity with the occupiers and they managed to get past security and deliver some vital food supplies. Since then the occupiers have had a rough night and have been subjected to violence and harrasement from the University's security. At a former occupation of the University's 'Physics Bridge' a similar assault occurred. The occupiers have responded with a statement condemning the repression and victimisation. They have pointed out that the University's plans to 'prettify' the campus and it's intention to cut courses, jobs, access schemes and bursaries are completely at odds with defending universal access to education.

University occupations have also started In Edinburgh, Warwick, York, London and Cambridge. In the USA UC Davis students have been subjected to repression as they struggle against increased tuition fees and police brutality on campus. [More]

Full article | 1 comment

SchNEWS: "You can't evict an idea"

19-11-2011 05:29

The occupy movements around the world are reaching crunch time this week as it kicks off in New York and London is served with an eviction notice from The City of London Corporation.

On November 4th, representatives from the Occupy LSX camp met with their opposite numbers from The City of London Corporation, at the corporation's request (See SchNEWS 795). During this meeting it was proposed that as long as the camp was able to clear some space for Fire Brigade access they would be allowed to remain without legal persecution until after Christmas. The next day, as this proposal was going through consensus at the camp, the corporation added no less than 12 added extras, ranging from demanding that the camp recognised itself as unlawful, that it was trespassing and preventing freedom of movement for the public, and that the corporation had the right to sue for possession of the area -- to name but a few. These extras were not announced to the press and kept as quiet as possible. Occupy LSX rejected the terms, and responded with a few demands of their own. Demands that any other Local Authority in the country would be legally obliged to fulfil, but which The City of London Corporation remain scarily exempt from. Simply, the camp asked that the corporation: 1) Publish full, year-by-year breakdowns of the City Cash account, future and historic; 2) Make the entirety of its activities subject to the Freedom of Information Act; and 3) Detail all advocacy undertaken on behalf of the banking and finance industries, since the 2008 financial crash. The Corporation doesn't have to do any of this because it is in fact a medieval hangover (officially entitled The M*ay*or and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London)which has gone unreformed for centuries -- it's a local authority whose electorate is composed almost entirely of businesses- as such it is a powerful advocate for the financial capital. [More + list of local Occupy camps]

Full article

"You Can Shove Your Rubber Bullets Up Your Arse!": 'Total Policing' of N9 Demos

15-11-2011 11:11

Students and construction workers got their first taste of the 'Total Policing' advocated by new Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe at the demonstrations held on November 9th in London.

The MET used intimidatory tactics on Student demonstrators, in the run-up to the day, with threatening letters being sent out to those arrested at previous demos, along with threats of rubber bullets broadcast via the corporate media.

The MET tactics appeared to have some success with numbers on the demo much lower than expected. Those that did join found that the whole march took place in an enormous kettle, which they were unable to leave, with all side roads blocked off, and police in riot gear at junctions. In addition to the thousands of uniformed cops controlling the route, plain clothes cops infiltrated the crowd, making an aggressive arrest.

The corporate media continued to mainly ignore the demos organised by the 'Sparks' and UNITE, for construction workers who are under threat from massive pay cuts as their employers ditch pay agreements. Sparks who wished to show solidarity with the Students, were prevented from doing so and found themselves kettled later in the afternoon.

Elsewhere in London, RMT affiliated cabbies brought Trafalgar Square and the Strand to a standstill, and UK Uncut disrupted the speech of the Permanent Secretary for Tax of HM Customs and Revenue at a Corporate Tax Conference

Further demos have been called for November 23rd and November 30th [more]

Previous Feature: Sparks Will Fly on November 9th!
On the Newswire: Authorities panicking over November 9 protest! | Police harass activists traveling by coach to nov9 protests | a few pics and words on november 9 student protest | Nov9 The final kettle, arrests and dispersal | Cabbies Protest
Video: Nov9 Sparks push through police lines | #Nov9 Arrest of protester by undercover police | Violent arrest of a protester during #Nov9 by a large group of undercover cops
Plainclothes Cops: N9: Pics of moment undercover cops arrest protester | N9 arrest figures from Met police | Undercover Cop Faces at N9 | N9 new police tactics: Undercover cops active and aggressive
Analysis: After Nov 9: Where do we go from here? | N9: The Bigger Picture

Full article | 2 comments

Prosecutions Against 2011 Census Refusers Begin

12-11-2011 09:34

Cases against people who refused to complete the 2011 census in England and Wales are starting to come before the courts. Judith Sambrook, who declined to fill in her form in protest at the government's contract with WMD manufacturer Lockheed Martin to process census data, had a preliminary hearing at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Remembrance Day 11/11/11 with her case now adjourned to 8 December (tbc). Over 20 supporters attended the court in solidarity with Judith to demonstrate against Lockheed Martin and the wars it fuels, holding a vigil at the war memorial afterwards. Other known cases are in Liverpool on 8 December, Reading on 13 December and Birmingham on 5 January. There are bound to be more in the coming weeks and months.

Full article | 1 addition | 2 comments

Sparks Will Fly on November 9th!

05-11-2011 15:06

Fat Cat bosses from the eight largest construction businesses are seekingto further expand profit margins through moves that would see industry workers lose up to a third of their take home pay. The employers seek to withdraw from various agreements including the Joint Industrial Board (J.I.B.) agreement, and to impose new contracts which would downgrade safety and skill levels. Earlier this month, Balfour Beatty issued 1700 termination notices to workers, and began sacking those who took part in protests and refused to cross picket lines.

Rank and file electricians, calling themselves 'The Sparks' have challenged both their employers and the UNITE union by launching their own wildcat actions whilst remaining in the union. London actions to date include two blockades of Blackfriars station construction site, a picket outside Stratford's new Westfield Shopping Centre and most recently an attempt to blockade 110 Cannon Street, a site run by Gratte Brothers. On arrival the Sparks found that management had already closed the site, and headed for Cannon Street Tube where they held a short rally before marching to the #OccupyLSX camp outside St. Pauls. Outside of London actions have taken place at Sellafield, Grangemouth and Ratcliffe power stations, and Lindsey oil refinery.

Next Wednesday the Sparks will be joined by plumbers, and heating and ventilation engineers from across the country. They plan to assemble at the Shard near London Bridge at 11.30am before marching to the Blackfriars Station site and then on to parliament.

Also taking place on the day, will be the national demonstration against fees, cuts and privatisation which will bring together university, further education and school students from across the country to stage the biggest education protest in the capital since last December. Also planned is a mass walkout of schools, FE colleges and universities by students in support of the demo. The “March on the City” will see thousands descending on the streets of London, starting at the University of London Union, Malet Street through Trafalgar Square and up the Strand, before passing #OccupyLSX camp outside St. Pauls and ending at London Metropolitan University Moorgate campus next to the City of London, the heart of the financial capital. The day of protest is aimed at the government’s education reform bill which is a crude attempt to corporatise the education sector.

Upcoming Protests: National Construction Industry action | N9 Anarchist Bloc on the Student/Education demo

On the newswire: Sparks blockade Blackfriars station site | Siteworkers and OccupyLSX blockade Blackfriars | Latest London sparks protest | Electricians/Sparks Protest in Newcastle | Proposed Electricians Pay Cut Sparks Resistance | Manchester support the Sparks! | National Construction Industry action Nov 9th

Full article

Birmingham University Students Occupy Corporate Conference Centre

05-11-2011 10:49

On November 2nd there was a call-out for students and staff at the University of Birmingham to protest against tuition fees, cuts and privatisation. At 2pm they gathered under the University Clock tower to listen to speeches from several students about the effects the rise in tuition fees will have and the negative impacts of privatisation within education. There was concern that the Higher Education White Paper will force Universities to act more like private companies. The government argues that the introduction of competition into the sector will increase choice and quality of education for students. However many of the campaigners felt that this will create a US style model of a few elite, inaccessible universities and a large pool of underfunded poor institutions. There was also anger over the private sector-style pay rises received by the managers at the University. Last year, the Vice-Chancellor David Eastwood received an 11% pay rise increasing his pay to £392,0004. The money the University 'saved' by closing the entire Sociology Department was blown in one year on management pay rises.

Upcoming Protest: N9 Anarchist Bloc on the Student/Education demo

From the Newsire: University of Birmingham Occupied! | Why we occupy, our statement | Photos from University occupation | VIDEO: University of Birmingham Occupation

Links:Defend Birmingham | YouTube video

Full article | 2 additions | 7 comments

As the Occupations go Global, Nine are Ongoing in the UK

20-10-2011 00:49

On 15th October 2011 the Occupy Wall Street protests went global with over 1,000 protests around the planet. In the UK a number of towns and cities saw occupy actions which are ongoing. Birmingham protestors met at Victoria Square, [ 1 | 2 ] and started their on-going occupation. A small protest took place in Sheffield and Cardiff. Several thousand attended a rally in London, where despite a show of force by the Met, a General Assembly was held and tents pitched in front of St. Paul's Cathedral. In Scotland, tents were pitched in Glasgow's George Square and Edinburgh's St. Andrew's Square. Ongoing occupations also started in, Norwich, Nottingham, Newcastle and Bristol [ 1 | 2 ]. These occupations joined Manchester which had already been in Occupation since October 3rd, when a camp was started in Albert Square, which later moved to the Peace Gardens after negotiations with the council and police. Future occupations are being discussed in many other places.

Full article | 4 comments

Political policing in Birmingham

05-10-2011 17:52

The last few weeks has seen a number of cases of political policing and repression of peaceful protest in Birmingham. The first case was in the lead up to the Lib Dem conference which was held in Birmingham from Saturday 17th September. The day before the conference started on Friday 16th three Activists from the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) were arrested for a banner drop, which read “Traitors Not Welcome, Hate Clegg, Love NCAFC”. They would be held in prison on minor road traffic charges until after the national Demo against the coalition cuts was over.

The second case of political policing was at the Right to Work Demonstration against the coalition’s cuts on the opening day of the conference. As with last years Conservative party conference the police presence seemed overblown with armed police and the route of the demonstration not being allowed to go past the ICC the venue of the conference.

Finally one of the three NCAFC activists arrested for the banner drop was denied bail and held in prison for 10 days on the basis the he was facing charges for the occupation of the Fortnum & Mason store on the March 26th protests.

On the newswire: NCAFC activists drop banner for day 1 of Lib Dem conference | Birmingham For The Alternative, TUC, Right to Work Demo, 18th September | Lib Dem conference protester remanded in custody after banner drop | Solidarity Protest for banner drop activist remanded in custody | Solidarity Demonstration for Banner Drop Anti-Cuts Activist | Ed Bauer bailed after 10 days in prison

Full article | 3 comments

Hinkley Blockaded: No New Nuclear Power!

03-10-2011 12:03

More than 300 people, mostly from the south-west but with representation from across the country and as far afield as Belgium and Germany, successfully sealed off the main entrance to Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset on the morning of Monday 3 October in opposition to EDF Energy's plans to build two new mega-reactors on the site. Over 200 of those taking part also spent the weekend at a temporary protest camp set at nearby Nether Stowey.

Blockaders were joined at the EDF gates by a theatrical troupe who enacted a nuclear disaster scenario, while Seize the Day provided a musical backdrop to the event. 206 helium balloons were released to represent the number of days since the Fukushima meltdown. The balloons will be tracked, to show which areas of the West Country would be worst affected by a nuclear disaster at Hinkley (and hopefully to prevent wildlife from suffering the harm which can be caused by deflated balloons).

The blockade remained in place for a total of nine hours, with participants reporting a 'great festival feel... Dancing, singing and chanting.'. There was one arrest, of a protester found in possession of a craft knife while walking along a footpath. He was later released without charge.

Full article | 1 comment

National Day of Action Against Atos 30/09

02-10-2011 09:43

On Friday 30th September, several towns and cities saw actions as part of the National Day of Action Against ATOS. ATOS is the private company which conducts assessments of sick and disabled people via the Work Capability Assessment. The assessment is controversial and is said to have caused major distress to those forced to undergo it. The General Medical Council and other professional bodies are dealing with numerous complaints about staff who carry out the assessments. For those deemed "fit to work" by ATOS, appeal success rates are high, with 40 percent success for claimants without legal support, and rising to seventy percent for those who are supported by advisors.

Some of the reported actions took place in Glasgow, Oxford, Birmingham, Brighton and Nottingham, where two people were arrested after the protest entered the ATOS offices. Police were unable to find adapted transport for the wheelchair user they arrested, and had to process him on the street.

In London activists targetted the BMJ Trade fair where ATOS were seeking to recruit staff at the Islington Design Centre.

From the newswires:
Atos Kills: Blood and Bandages at Atos Origin | Atos Origin vs the internet | ATOS & Harrington's indifference | Atos Origin Recruitment Event Disrupted

External links:
National Protest Against benefits Cuts | Black Triangle Campaign | Brighton Benefits Campaign | Disabled People Against Cuts | ATOS: Notes on a Neoliberal Scandal

Full article | 2 additions | 1 comment

Dale Farm: Injunction remains for now

24-09-2011 18:23

LATEST: Monday 3 October: Basildon Council concedes that full clearance of Dale Farm as originally proposed would be illegal. Council ordered to pay one third of Dale Farm's legal costs. Awaiting outcome of applications for judicial reviews, due Tuesday. More in full article.

The legality of the eviction notices served by Basildon Council on Dale Farm residents was challenged by the Travellers in the High Court on Friday. Once the arguments had been heard, including an application by Basildon Council for the scaffolding at the entrance to the site to be removed, the Judge Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart said that there would not be a ruling before Monday 26 September (now extended to Tuesday 4 October). Late in the day it was reported that the injunction to restrain bailiffs from starting any clearance or eviction of the site would stand in its current form until at least 4pm Monday. A later report indicated that the judge may further extend the injunction into the middle of next week or beyond if necessary. In the meantime, applications are being prepared for judicial review of the eviction, which could lead to further delay of a final decision. Basildon Council has already set aside £18 million to evict the Dale Farm residents. However, with the current stalemate reported to be costing the council over £1 million per day, the total cost is likely to have increased by some £8 million by Monday and will continue to rise during any further delay. With a bit of luck they'll run out of money before the eviction is allowed to go ahead.

Supporters are needed both at the High Court now and at Dale Farm now and for the duration. Contact savedalefarm@gmail.com for more information or see Save Dale Farm.

Features: Dale Farm locks on against eviction | Resist the Dale Farm Eviction

Other links: Save Dale Farm | The Advocacy Project: Dale Farm | Andy Worthington on Dale Farm

Full article | 1 addition | 5 comments

Occupy! Manchester - 2nd October Tory Party Conference

21-09-2011 08:33

After the ‘March for the Alternative’ in London on March 26th, thousands of people joined the TUC ‘Birmingham for the Alternative’ march on the Lib Dem conference on Sunday September 18th. There was a wide range of trade union participation, especially from public sector unions who recently announced a new wave of national strikes for November 30th. Student activists were also present, with a banner drop by the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts reminding conference delegates of Nick Clegg’s broken promises of opposing rises in tuition fees.

Plans for a third TUC demonstration, the Manchester ‘March for the Alternative’, are underway for the first day of the Conservative Party conference on October 2nd. Tens of thousands are expected to march past the conference centre and the ‘ring of steel’ around it, protesting against an agenda of cuts and austerity for the benefit of the rich. A coalition of anarchists, socialists, trade union activists, student unions and democracy campaigners, dubbed Occupy! Manchester, are also calling for an occupation of Albert Square, outside Manchester Town Hall, to create an assembly of protest on the doorstep of the Tory’s conference, and a place for real debate and discussion about the alternatives.

Plans for occupations and assemblies in Britain have been inspired by the large and vibrant student protests that took place last winter and by the popular demonstrations elsewhere. In New York, people’s assemblies were held on Wall Street on September 17th, the occupation there is on-going with a 24 hour camp in Liberty Plaza. a ‘March to Brussels’ has so far reached Paris. In London, another national student demonstration has been called for November 9th.

Links: Occupy Wall Street | Occupy Manchester | Occupy Glasgow

Full article | 2 additions | 12 comments

Disrupting DSEi - Monday to Wednesday

13-09-2011 08:22

Actions against this year's 6th biennial DSEi Arms Fair at the ExCel Centre in London's Docklands kicked off last week in the run up to the event. This week's resistance began with a candlelit vigil on Monday night followed by a day of action of Tuesday, dawning to reveal a subvertised billboard as well as a huge 'Destroy DSEi' banner hung between cranes. A critical mass of cyclists was out and about all day with explosive sounds and various groups blockaded entrances to the arms fair and death dealing companies such as Aerospace Defence & Security Group. There were die-ins all over the place, including outside the BAe Systems building and at the National Gallery, where the official arms fair reception was held on Tuesday evening, guests being greeted with chants of "Scum!"

Actions in Westminster during the day included a CAAT 'supermarket shopping' event and a Christian demonstration against drones with street theatre. This later moved on to General Atomics, which makes the British Reaper drone. A priest from Bradford was allowed to reach the main DSEi entrance after announcing that he'd come to perform the official exorcism. Many other actions and visual events took place in and around Docklands. FIT were all over the place, some thinly disguised as ordinary cops, with FITwatchers keeping a close eye on them. Two arrests were reported during the day, one for spray painting anti- arms fair slogans and one for fence climbing. Several more arrests were reported outside the National Gallery in the evening. [More]

On Wednesday, around 15 people marched from central London to the Excel centre. Despite a blanket 30-day ban on marches still in place in the City of London and the borough of Tower Hamlets, there was no police harassment.

See full timeline here.

Full article | 1 comment

Disrupting the Death Fair

10-09-2011 14:40

As arms companies add the last touches to their macabre exhibits, and military representatives from repressive regimes begin entering the country, activists are preparing to launch a wave of disruptive actions against Europe's largest Arms fair. DSEi will hold its 6th Arms Fair at the Excel Centre in London's Docklands from September 13th to 16th.

Last Thursday, activists from CAAT picketed the RBS in Bishopsgate, which was the advertised location for a pre-DSEI event crassly entitled "Middle East: A vast market for defence and security companies". After the protest was advertised on Indymedia, twitter and Facebook, the organisers claimed the event had been cancelled and removed the advert from the web. However, the event did go ahead at another location.

On the same day, two banks in Bristol, Lloyds TSB and Halifax Broadmead announced that they would not open on Saturday because of an advertised protest by Bristol Against DSEi.

On Saturday activists in kayaks disrupted the journey of the naval Destroyer HMS Dauntless as it attempted to sail from Tilbury Docks to the Excel Centre. The size of the ship means that it can only navigate the river at high tide, and its progress was disrupted for about four hours after the kayakers' intervention. The ship is due to be used as a reception space and for demonstrations during the event.

A coalition of groups under the umbrella of Stop The Arms Fair have promised a wave of actions during the event, with a day of action called for the opening day on the 13th. Planned actions include a Critical Mass in the morning followed by a call to be at Custom House en masse at 10am, an action at the Clarion Defence and Security offices in Earls Court, Bubbles Not Bombs, Sparkles Not Shrapnel, disruption of DLR trains taking delegates to the event, a mass lobby, and a die-in outside BAE at 5pm.

The Arms Dealers Dinner will this year take place, on Thursday 15th, inside the Excel compound, and a Critical mass will leave Bank at 3.30pm to meet up with other protesters.

Disarm DSEi, one of the groups organising the protests said "Tell the arms dealers what you think of their deadly wares and show them that their journey to DSEi will not be an easy ride. It's time to stop the arms dealers in their tracks and make DSEi 2011 a year to remember"

Full article | 1 addition | 3 comments

SchNEWS: Tower To The People

05-09-2011 09:28

It was going to be the 'Big One', the EDL's grand day out in the capital city. They proudly proclaimed that they were going into the "Lion's Den" -- "Islamic hell-hole" -- and what they no doubt had in mind when this hare-brained scheme was first announced was something like an Orange march through London's biggest Muslim community, with drums beating and the chant of 'E.E.EDL' echoing off the walls of the East London Mosque as terrified Muslims fled. What actually happened was a half-arsed piss-up miles from Tower Hamlets. They predicted thousands would attend and only attracted hundreds. EDL Facebook posters have been reduced to claiming that Aldgate is by some spurious definition 'in Tower Hamlets' which is the equivalent of trying to pass off a Calais booze cruise as a seaborne invasion of the European mainland.

The Home Secretary intervened early in proceedings and banned marches for thirty days in the six surrounding boroughs. This is old hat to the EDL, who until recently always had their marches banned and have resorted to 'static demonstrations' in car parks around the country. These static demos basically revolve around drunken EDLers trying with varying degrees of success to break out of their police cordon and go on the rampage.

The ban seemed to come as bit of a surprise to the Unite against Fascism lot though -- who had planned a march from Weaver's Field around Tower Hamlets. To their credit, despite calls from the authorities for anti-fascists to stay at home now that a ban had been implemented, they re-located their protest to within 200 yards of the East London Mosque (the EDLs stated target),meaning that there was at least a strong presence on Whitechapel High St.

From the newswires:

Full article | 1 comment

SchNEWS 783: The Big Smoke

13-08-2011 14:33

AS SCHNEWS ASKS WHY IS LONDON BURNING?

Across the entire media spectrum the opinions are now flying thicker and faster than the half-bricks were just two nights ago. So here’s SchNEWS’ half-assed crack at explaining the recent turmoil on the streets of the U.K.

The recent riots are far too complex for a simple explanation (Maybe it’s just something about Tory governments and Royal Weddings). The facts aren’t all in yet by any means. The riots certainly weren’t ‘pure criminality’ but neither were they anything like a politicised insurrection.

Riots in different parts of the country and even different parts of the capital each had their own flavour. If they had one thing in common it was the fact that they didn’t happen in the estates – the fight was taken to the High St. Hatred of the cops and the possibility of free stuff on a long summer’s evening proved to be an intoxicating mixture. As an aside – both the footage and the roll-call of those in court right now show – this was a long way from race riot - black and white can unite – if only to loot Foot Locker. [Read more]

From The Newswires:
Indymedia London Roundup | Media demand mass arrests | Thuggery, looting, lawlessness… by the ruling class | Social Media and the Riots |Clapham Junction - the aftermath

Full article | 1 comment

Summer of Unrest: an indymedia overview of the 'riots'

10-08-2011 13:31

The fiery unrest which ignited in Tottenham a few days ago, and which has rapidly spread through London and to other towns and cities across the country, has been largely and predictably condemned by politicians and the mainstream media as mindless violence, arson, theft and thuggery. While there is no denying that a number of the attacks have badly affected local people in local communities, some of whom have lost their homes and possessions and in one case their lives, blanket condemnation of those involved in the unrest is inappropriate and conveniently draws attention away from the context in which these events are taking place.

Britain's cities, towns and rural areas alike now boast record numbers of young unemployed people, often denied benefits, with few prospects, with many of those living in urban areas facing constant harassment by the police, especially if they happen to be black, with public services being cut all around them, and quite possibly with a growing mass awareness - thanks to movements like UK UnCut - of government support for super-rich corporations at the expense of the already impoverished. The fatal shooting of Mark Duggan and subsequent police lies might have been one trigger for the 'riots' in Haringey; another is almost certainly the decision of Haringey local authority to close the majority of the borough's youth clubs in a round of public spending cuts. In any event and whatever the triggers, the roots of the unrest are deeply embedded. No amount of repressive policing and overkill sentencing is going to solve this crisis, even if it succeeds in silencing dissent in the short term.

This feature draws together and links to eye-witness accounts and independent analysis, alternative voices offering a range of views and opinions. Read indymedia features from London, Nottingham and Bristol, opinion from SolFed, Fitwatch and individual commentators, and accounts from the streets as events have unfolded.

Full article

Solidarity and Support Needed at Huntington Lane Protest Camp

02-08-2011 08:04

The protest camp at Huntington Lane near Wellington in Shropshire, which has been protecting woodland in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) against the ravages of UK Coal since March 2010 and preventing the building of a road which would give access to a second area for opencast mining, has been on eviction alert since court papers were served on 15 July and has issued a call-out and invitation for new people to get involved in defending the site. More people are urgently needed to stay on site ready to resist any eviction attempt, as well as people to visit for a few hours or days to show support and carry out solidarity actions.

On the newswires: Don't Quarry - Be Happy! | Peace News Camp Visit to Huntington Lane | Huntington Lane Facing Eviction - An Invitation | Court Papers Served - Eviction Imminent | Activists stop work at Huntington Lane
Elsewhere: Protest Camp Website | Directions and Maps

UK UK Feature Archive

From the newswires:

AS SCHNEWS ASKS WHY IS LONDON BURNING?

Page 44 of 46 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

Page 44 of 46

46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1