Anarchist flags have again been raised in Liverpool as a group called LOVE take direct action to highlight the reality of austerity for the poorest and most vulnerable working class people in our city. The former Bank of England building in Castle Street has been occupied by various people, numbering fifty or so at any one time, including homeless and hungry people who have come together to form a community, a temporary and maybe not so temporary community of resistance.

Support for the action has come from passers-by, local media and from local residents and small businesses who have all done their bit to help. Food parcels have been delivered, police and bailiffs have been observed carefully and wi-fi has been shared by local small businesses to allow those inside to communicate. A lovely sense of shared cooperation and mutual aid has developed, for now :-)

Love Activists have demanded Mayor Joe Anderson meet with them by the end of the week after resisting eviction at the former Bank of England in the city centre.

The group have occupied the building on Castle Street since April 18 and were given an Interim Possession Order in court yesterday, which means the property must be vacated within 24 hours or the police can make them leave.

In a statement released today, they listed their demands:

1. We demand Mayor Joe Anderson meets with us before the end of this week

2. We demand the Merseyside Labour councils and Joe Anderson Mayor rejects the cuts and says no to austerity and no to the cuts. We are suffering ‘Enuf is Enuf’ - we and they need sanctuary.

3. We demand all of the homeless we have been supporting, helping to provide a sense of worth and belonging are re-housed immediately.

4. We demand Social Services and Mental Health Services undertake rapid assessments of those we are supporting, they are very vulnerable.

5. We have learned the drug and alcohol rehabilitation services are underfunded and unsupported, with long waiting lists, cuts to funding. These services must be well resourced and protected. We say no to privatisation.

6. The voices of the homeless must be heard and their requests must be actioned and they must be treated as equals.

7. We have also learned that the Homeless Provision in Merseyside is at breaking point, we have been working with the Whitechapel Centre in particular and will continue with that positive relationship.

8. We demand that the first step to recovery for those with addition issues is a roof over their heads, this is a priority over their recovery.

9. We would also like to thank the community and businesses of Liverpool and further afield for their generous support in solidarity of our direct action to occupy the Bank of England - we have only got this far with that support.

10. We continue to peacefully resist our removal from the Occupied Bank until our demands are met in full.


 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLbmfm9lbXE#t=15