UK UK Newswire Archive
Disabled People Against Cuts block Oxford St
28-01-2012 22:55
DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts) and UK Uncut today worked together in an action titled "Message from the invisibles" to bring Oxford Street to a stand still in protest against the Tory Governments proposed Welfare Reform Bill. At 12 o'clock, a group of 20 wheelchair users from Disabled People Against the Cuts chained themselves together in the middle of Regent Street using handcuffs and bicycle locks. They were joined by 200 others who had responded to a call by UK Uncut to meet at Holborn station to 'shame the government into withdrawing the bill completely'.
UKUncut press release:
A group of over 200 people today blocked Oxford Circus and brought the surrounding area to a complete standstill, with traffic backlogs extending for several hundred yards. At 12 o'clock, a group of 20 wheelchair users from Disabled People Against the Cuts(1) chained themselves together in the middle of Regent Street using handcuffs and bicycle locks. They were joined by 200 others who had responded to a call by UK Uncut(2) to meet at Holborn station to 'shame the government into withdrawing the bill completely'(3).
At 2pm, the group of protestors decided to leave together, describing the action as an 'amazing success'. Alex Logan, who had joined the protest at Holborn said "The day has been an amazing success. Together we have shown that we are not going to take the cruel Welfare Reform Bill lying down. We will continue to work together to fight bullying behaviour of the government, which is choosing to make marginalised people's lives a misery while continuing to let rich companies rich companies dodge £25bn of tax each year"
Before midday, while the wheelchair users were locking themselves into place in the road, a crowd of about 200 people including a samba band and protestors from Occupy London and Black Triangle had gathered at Holborn station. They travelled from there to Oxford Circus, which had been a secret target until the wheelchairs were chained in place. Some people had travelled from as far as Manchester, Cornwall and Edinburgh to take part in the action, which was called by disabled activists and others directly affected by the bill.
The protesters say that the Welfare reform bill is 'unfair, unnecessary and unpopular' and are calling for it to be scrapped. Recent reports have shown that as a result of the bill 500,000 families stand to lose their homes while others will become ‘imprisoned in them’(4). Nearly half a million people would lose their Disability Living Allowance, including disabled children(5). People with terminal illnesses would be forced into work, and 3.2 million will be put through demanding tests that have already pushed some to take their own lives(6). The government's own research admits that this flagship reform will push 100,000 children into poverty(7).
The government has defended the bill on the grounds that it needs to cut the deficit. However, the protesters point out that much greater amounts of money are lost through tax dodging by the super-rich each year. In January, Private Eye revealed a further £2 billion tax dodge by Vodafone, in addition to the £6 billion scam revealed in 2010(8). The most recent dodge by Vodafone is greater than the cuts to Disability Living Allowance, which will affect half a million people.
[1] - Disabled People Against Cuts is a UK based organisation fighting for justice and human rights for all disabled people. Twitter
[2] - UK Uncut is a grassroots anti-austerity direct action network. The announcement of the action is available here
[3] - http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/message-from-the-invisible
[4] - The guardian article
[5] - Mencap article
[6] - Disability Now article / The Guardian article
[7] - The Guardian article
[8] - Private Eye article
Further comments:
Rosemary Willis from DPAC said "Maria Miller, so-called Minister for disabled people, has repeatedly stated that we are 'financially unsustainable' and we want to ask this government exactly what they mean by that. We will not let this government push through these changes which have already led to disabled people taking their own lives."
UK Uncut supporter Josie McDermot, 32, said "The welfare reform bill is cruel and and unnecessary, and this protest is an essential way to persuade the government to scrap their plans. It is great to be part of such a broad and powerful campaign against the Welfare Reform Bill and to keep building the pressure that has already been piled on with the Spartacus report.
She added, "It is typical bully tactics by the government to force marginalised people in society to pay for the economic downturn, while letting bonuses run wild and rich companies continue tax dodging to the tune of £25bn"
stop the welfare reforms - civil disobedience
28-01-2012 22:55
disabled activists, pensioners, and ukuncut staged a spectacular blockade at oxford circus today, blocking the northern junction of regents street for more than two hours. there were no arrests and after a conscensus decision protestors left together peacefully and in solidarity shortly after 2pm
click on image for larger version. 'some rights reserved' - free for credited non-commercial use, otherwise contact author for permission
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the action, under the banner "message from the invisibles", was originally called by 'disabled people against cuts (www.dpac.uk.net) but they gained support from pensioners organisations and ukuncut. their aim was to create a media event and a symbolic challenge to the government in the form of a mass act of civil disobedience.
on top of the current controversial 'welfare reform bill' that the government is trying to force through despite massive opposition, disabled activists point out that cuts to grants, the voluntary sector, legal aid, and other social funds also impact upon disabled people disproportionately, because they affect many services that are relied upon.
the government tries to characterise the sick and disabled as workshy, claiming there is no incentive for them to work because benefits are too high, but they simply don't appreciate all the other obstacles to work in the form of discrimination, lack of support, poor urban and transport planning and ingrained attitudes.
as the gap between rich and poor grows ever larger, the disabled often find themselves at the bottom of that gap, marginalised, isolated and in abject poverty. and yet disabled people are not such a small minority - they are a sizeable part of society, as much as 1 in 7 in london for instance!
so today's action was aimed to be a high profile event showing that disabled people can come together and fight back against the cuts, supported by, and in solidarity with other justice, rights, and anti-cuts organisations.
ukuncut called a meet at holborn tube this morning at 11.30, a slight own-goal in that the station isn't wheelchair-accessible, however this was noticed beforehand and disabled activists with mobility problems were invited to arrive a little earlier and were helped by stewards and buddies who organised alternative transport to the target site.
that site turned out to be oxford circus, and as the hundred or more activists disgorged from the circle line, they saw that an earlier phalanx of disabled protestors had already begun a blockade, with rows of wheelchairs chained together across the northern junction of oxford street at the junction with regent street.
traffic was backed up along regent street to the north, and there was a row of abandoned buses. it was unfortunate that a tourist coach was caught at the front of the queue, but eventually police facilitated the clearance of the road, and finally the white coach backed up and found a different route, leaving regent street eerily empty for a busy saturday afternoon.
police formed a barrier in front of the protestors, preventing them from any further incursion into the junction, and traffic and bus routes were diverted to other roads to avoid the blockade.
although the police operation appeared good-natured and 'softly softly', the chief inspector and inspector were observed briefing a technical team in near-by cavendish square, ready to cut through d-locks and chains to effect an eviction. there were also additional TSG waiting in that square.
however, and despite the cold, the protest continued for a couple of hours, with spirited chanting, some short speeches, and some uplifting samba all contributing to the jubilant atmosphere.
an attempt by the police to make a public announcement over a loudspeaker was met by genuine confusion, as even to those nearby it was largely unintelligible, but by 2pm it was clear police were warning people that they were causing an obstruction of the highway and that they risked arrest.
some activists not wishing to chance an arrest were persuaded to move to the pavement, but the majority stood their ground for a further 20 minutes while the tension began to mount a little, until finally a consensus decision was reached, and an announcement 'mic-checked', that the protest would end together and leave as one.
by the time the road was finally clear, and police were able to allow traffic through, the protest had successfully blockaded the junction for well over two hours, attracting much independent and some mainstream media attention, with thousands of flyers distributed among passers-by.
the next events planned are vigils and lobbies of parliament on the days that the lords vote on welfare reform bill and that MPs vote on lords' amendments. these are 31st jan and 1st feb respectively (next tuesday and wednesday). all are welcome to join the protests in old palace yard opposite parliament from 1-3pm on both days.
see dpac.uk.net and globalwomenstrike.net for more details
Direct Action Against Rip Off Letting Agency Glasgow Fri. 3rd Feb. 4.45pm
28-01-2012 18:34
Meet Bus Stop outside Dram, 232-246 Woodlands Road, Glasgow G3 6ND
Keter Plastics targeted for complicity in occupation and apartheid
28-01-2012 16:10
This morning a group of BDS activists visited B&Q on the Lewes Road in Brighton to speak to them about their sale of Keter Plastic products.Daisy lane eviction,north wales
28-01-2012 14:39
DPAC and ukuncut block Regent Street
28-01-2012 14:29
At about midday, a group of activists strung a chain across the Regent Street North junction with Oxford Circus, and a number of wheelchair users attached themselves to the train. Police were fairly slow to arrive, by which time numbers were also swelled with the arrival of those who had responded to the call out.
The protest was a response to the draconian measures being taken to slash welfare provision, with disabled people being some of the hardest hit. A propoganda campaign mounted by the state and corporate media has produced a nasty backlash against disabled people. One woman told me that she has been asked if she really needs her wheelchair.
DPAC called for more protests to be held across the UK, and it is to be hoped that this will happen.
From Bristol With Love #15
28-01-2012 12:25
From Bristol with Love is a showcase for local music, local news and new forms of local thinking.M31 - European Day of Action Against Capitalism
28-01-2012 12:03
A EUROPEAN Day of Action Against Capitalism has been called for Saturday March 31 2012.Eviction at St Paul's delayed
28-01-2012 10:55
The Court of Appeal has ruled there can be no eviction at St Paul's protest camp until Tuesday 31 January at the earliest while the judges consider the evidence presented by Occupy London and the eco-warriors.
If the appeal judge decides not to allow an appeal for the St Paul's protesters to go ahead there should be a few days before the City of London Corporation will be able to arrange bailiffs and police to evict the camp.
A legal spokesman for Occupy London told the General Assembly at St Paul's camp on Friday night 27 January, that he wished other groups well, but they were not part of Occupy London.
Asked to consider the question of whether to create an eco-village after being evicted from St Paul's,
and being told that the issues involved were not mutually exclusive, some of the campers expressed approval at the General Assembly.
Get ready for the eviction of occupylsx
28-01-2012 10:11
The nearest time for the eviction of occupylsx is Tuesday evening on the 31st of January. So start coming down to the camp from then onwards. We are calling on thousands of people to come down and resist the eviction by all means possible.Grassroots community action round-up
28-01-2012 09:42
Nuclear energy fat cats EDF Energy targeted for fuel poverty days of action
28-01-2012 09:03
RSPCA won't drop pig abusers
28-01-2012 02:15
“The RSPCA are failing animal protection. They are bringing shame on the whole ideology of animal protectionism and ethics. They are supporting acts of violence against innocent and defenceless animals. The public will be shocked when they find out this” says Jake Knight of the Animal Defence Society.Occupy squat the Bank of Iraq
28-01-2012 00:55
Occupy London took and new building this morning a former Nationalised Bank of Iraq called the The Rafidain Bank, with the comment "You told us to stop camping and go after the banks. So we did." The building in Leadenhall Street is massive, formerly the Iraq embassy commercial attache, this is a new Bank of Ideas in the making. Throughout the afternoon various police groups visited the area until around 5pm they entered the building using battering rams, forcibly evicting the occupants illegally. More as i get time...Eviction at St Paul's delayed while Court of Appeal considers the evidence
28-01-2012 00:49
The Court of Appeal has ruled there can be no eviction at St Paul's protest camp until Tuesday 31 January at the earliest while the judges consider the evidence presented by Occupy London and the eco-warriors.Remembering the Battle of Saltley Gate
27-01-2012 23:59
On November 30th last year millions of workers went on strike across the country
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/birmingham/2011/12/489831.html, the biggest general strike since 1926. Earlier in the year there was a similar one day mass strike on June 30th and there have been smaller strikes happing throughout the year https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/birmingham/2012/01/491367.html, http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/birmingham/2011/12/490171.html, http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/06/480579.html, all fighting against cuts and austerity measures. February 10th will be the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Saltley Gate, an event which important lessons and inspiration can be taken for anyone fighting austerity and cuts today. Then as now a Conservative government were resolute on destroying the working class, who respond with the first national coal strike since 1926. Crucially they were supported by other workers, in Birmingham 30,000 engineers walked out in a solidarity strike. 15,000 of these engineers then marched to join 2000 striking miners who were picketing Saltley coke depot (the last remaining open fuel depot). This forced the police, who had kept the gates open until this point, to close the gates. This was the straw that broke the camels back, around the country tens of thousands of miners had been involved in strikes, shutting down coal depots, docks and even power stations. But the closure of Saltley though solidarity action untimely led to the collapse of the government.
Eco-warriors propose turning St Paul's Cathedral into Extinction Eco-Village
27-01-2012 23:35
With eviction at St Paul's protest camp apparently imminent some of the eco-warriors are proposing that the anti-capitalist protesters should take sanctuary inside the cathedral and transform it into the Extinction Eco-village to avoid being violently attacked by the police.IPCC lecture: "Public Confidence in Policing"
27-01-2012 22:55
Thursday 26 January 2012
"Public Confidence in Policing in the 21st Century" a lecture given by the Interim Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), Len Jackson OBE, at Newton Building, Nottingham Trent University.
Highlighting high profile cases that they have investivated including the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes and more recently Mark Duggan, Mr Jackson discussed the position and objectives of the IPCC. He went on to outline some of the challenges to be faced in the role of the IPCC with the fothcoming Police Reform and Social Responsibilty Act 2011.
One of the highlights for me, was the fact that more complaints against the police tend to be made by older males. Women still may feel they are not taken seriously by a male dominated force. The other obvious fact is that young people are well satisfied with the behaviour of police officers towards them :-). Alternatively of course, they don't bother to complain, completely lacking in confidence in the system.
Nottingham Trent University release says: "Public confidence in 21stcentury policing will be the subject of a lecture given by the Interim Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, Len Jackson OBE, at Nottingham Trent University on January 26. The talk will look at the major issues which have sparked demands for more rigorous oversight of the police as well as the creation of the IPCC, the body responsible for dealing with complaints against police officers and staff in England and Wales.
The talk, which is open to the public and free to attend, is part of a guest lecture series organised by the University’s School of Social Sciences.
As well as providing a history of police complaints and the bodies responsible for them, Mr Jackson will discuss the potential impact of the new Police and Crime Act on police complaints and how the landscape in this area will change beyond 2012.
He will also highlight recent experiences of dealing with serious incidents involving European Convention on Human Rights ‘article two’ cases – which protect the right to life – and what has been learned from those cases.
Mr Jackson, who was appointed to the IPCC as a commissioner in 2003 and became deputy chair in 2008, before taking on the role of Interim Chair last year.
He is also an assistant commissioner with the Boundary Commission for England and Wales and a sales and marketing professional with more than 30 years’ experience in the food industry. He has many years’ experience of working with public sector bodies, such as the East Midlands Development Agency, where he was a director for three years from 1999-2001.
He was awarded an OBE in 2002 for his chairmanship of a number of government and voluntary sector initiatives during the 1990s including New Deal and Common Purpose. Between 2002-2008 Mr Jackson was chair of Sport England in the East Midlands and sat on its main board in London."
http://www.ntu.ac.uk/apps/News/116288-4/Interim_chair_of_Independent_Police_Complaints_Commission_to_talk_on_public.aspx
IPCC http://www.ipcc.gov.uk
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
Manchester fuel poverty billboard subvertising
27-01-2012 22:55
Billboards in Manchester were transformed today as anger against the ‘Big Six' energy companies rises. DIY modifications were made in protest about the thousands of people who die each year due to fuel poverty, and the hikes in heating bills. [1]
To see a video of this action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMd5Zdi0KUo
The Big Six - EDF, Centrica (British Gas), Eon, RWE Npower, Scottish Power and Southern & Scottish Energy have increased energy bills by as much as 22% this January 2012, while profits have soared to a record five-year high [2]. Government statistics show that every year, around 2,700 people, mostly pensioners, die from coldness-related diseases like pneumonia [3].
Jane Simpson, 34, from Manchester Climate Action group, who participated in the DIY modifications said "I just wanted to come out and say it. The energy companies are ripping us off big time and making a fat buck off it. But it's about much more than prices. It's about big corporations dominating our energy supply. We need democratic community control over how we heat our homes."
James Terry, 26, also linked the issue to climate change. He said: "It's not just people in the UK who are dying because of the energy companies obsession with profits - people around the world are dying from climate change resulting from the government and energy companies refusing to make the change to renewable energy."
"We need a chance to discuss where we get our energy from and how much it costs, not just have it dictated to us by big energy companies"
Those least able to pay for energy are forced into installing meters and paying more, and when the money runs out, so does the light, heat and hot water.
While the Big Six energy companies are making a five-year record profit of over 700% per customer, the government is cutting its Winter Fuel Allowance. [4]
This action has been inspired by the ‘Winter Warm Up' weekend of action called by Fuel Poverty Action [5]. Hundreds of protesters are expected to participate in actions in Leeds, London, Cambridge and other parts of the country. The group are highlighting the injustice of the ‘Big 6' control over energy resources. Reports are emerging of an occupation of Lewisham Town Hall in London.
See www.fuelpovertyaction.wordpress.com for more information on the national event.
ENDS
Notes
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[1] Fuel poverty is defined as expenditure of 10% or more of household income on fuel. There were 25,700 ‘excess Winter deaths' last Winter. At a conservative estimate, 10% of these deaths were directly due to people being unable to afford to heat their homes.
Government's full statistics here: data.gov.uk/dataset/excess_winter_deaths
[2] Energy Companies Profits at 700%. See article: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-204902...
[3]An April 2011 YouGov survey found that nearly 1 in 4 households (24% or 6.3million homes) were suffering fuel poverty. See full report here:http://bit.ly/s4NbSh
According to the government-commissioned Hills Poverty Review, 2,700 people - a conservative estimate - will die this winter as a direct result of being ‘fuel poor'. For the full review see: www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/funding/...
[4] Energy Companies Profits at 700%. See article: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-204902...
[5] Fuel Poverty Action is a project of the Climate Justice Collective
(CJC). CJC has emerged out of Climate Camp UK. Fuel Poverty Action aims to expose the economic and environmental causes of fuel poverty and take action to create energy democracy and climate justice.