Guest post: Beyond Clicktivism, a call to arms
Posted on Tue 8th Feb 2011, 9:12pmThis is a guest post by Tim from http://beyondclicktivism.com/
The TUC are organising a massive demonstration against the cuts on 26 March. The unions have their strengths – years of experience of organising have given them the funds, skills and contacts we as unaffiliated individuals lack – but they don’t understand the power of social media to mobilise and inform however sincerely they are trying to catch up.
Just as sukey makes use of the wisdom of the crowd to keep protesters safe on demonstrations, so too can we make use of the wisdom of the crowd to come together in ever-changing, shifting coalitions of resistance to the savage, unnecessary ideological cuts we face from a minority Conservative government propped up by duplicitous Liberal Democrats.
We can march side by side with the unions even if we do not share all of their views or support their methods.
On the 26 March, I want to see more people on the streets of London than marched for Stop the War.
We may be bored with marching from A-to-B, hearing a rousing speech then heading home but for many this will be new. Our cynicism may shield us from disappointment when our voices are not heard, but if nothing happens after the march, thousands more will have their political awakening and join us.
This is where we as digital activists need to work, bridging the gap between online activity and the real world, between the politically committed and the undecided many. We need to spend time offline talking to people who would never have considered marching before.
We need the people who are turned off by the talking heads, dry statistics and pretentious sounding language that characterises too much political discourse. People who find politics boring – until they find their library is closing, their daughter’s tuition fees are trebled, their health care has been sold off to the highest, uncaring bidder – by which time it is too late.
I want to see families marching. I want to see pensioners joined by children. I want to see every single section of society that is being victimised by these cuts putting aside their differences and marching together in the biggest peaceful protests in decades. I want to see readers of the Daily Mail walking side by side with readers of the Guardian.
Spread the word online – then get off the internet and talk to people in real life. Then come back and share, swap tips and go back out again.
Too often we end up preaching to the choir, talking on- and off-line only to people who share our views and concerns. Our job now is to get out there and talk to people who are not listening. Don’t waste time engaging with abusive people who have nothing to offer but disdain, be wary of concern trolls who feign confusion just to push their party line but don’t dismiss sincere, reasonable questions. Finding answers to genuine concerns people have based on the repeated lies trotted out by the coalition helps all of us grow stronger and more sure and broadens our support.
We have nine weeks. Together we can make history. Together we can force this government to listen to the people whose votes they stole by lying to win power.
Those with the broadest shoulders are shrugging off their load and leaving it to the weakest and most vulnerable to pay for the mistakes of the bankers. Let’s send a message out that our democracy is not for sale. It is our votes that confer power not private donations to party coffers.
Let’s work together to pool all of our skills and resources and make our message heard. The cuts are not the cure. Our country is not for sale.
if you are interested in writing a blog piece for the UK Uncut site, please send it to ukuncut@gmail.com for consideration.
The TUC are organising a massive demonstration against the cuts on 26 March. The unions have their strengths – years of experience of organising have given them the funds, skills and contacts we as unaffiliated individuals lack – but they don’t understand the power of social media to mobilise and inform however sincerely they are trying to catch up.
Just as sukey makes use of the wisdom of the crowd to keep protesters safe on demonstrations, so too can we make use of the wisdom of the crowd to come together in ever-changing, shifting coalitions of resistance to the savage, unnecessary ideological cuts we face from a minority Conservative government propped up by duplicitous Liberal Democrats.
We can march side by side with the unions even if we do not share all of their views or support their methods.
On the 26 March, I want to see more people on the streets of London than marched for Stop the War.
We may be bored with marching from A-to-B, hearing a rousing speech then heading home but for many this will be new. Our cynicism may shield us from disappointment when our voices are not heard, but if nothing happens after the march, thousands more will have their political awakening and join us.
This is where we as digital activists need to work, bridging the gap between online activity and the real world, between the politically committed and the undecided many. We need to spend time offline talking to people who would never have considered marching before.
We need the people who are turned off by the talking heads, dry statistics and pretentious sounding language that characterises too much political discourse. People who find politics boring – until they find their library is closing, their daughter’s tuition fees are trebled, their health care has been sold off to the highest, uncaring bidder – by which time it is too late.
I want to see families marching. I want to see pensioners joined by children. I want to see every single section of society that is being victimised by these cuts putting aside their differences and marching together in the biggest peaceful protests in decades. I want to see readers of the Daily Mail walking side by side with readers of the Guardian.
Spread the word online – then get off the internet and talk to people in real life. Then come back and share, swap tips and go back out again.
Too often we end up preaching to the choir, talking on- and off-line only to people who share our views and concerns. Our job now is to get out there and talk to people who are not listening. Don’t waste time engaging with abusive people who have nothing to offer but disdain, be wary of concern trolls who feign confusion just to push their party line but don’t dismiss sincere, reasonable questions. Finding answers to genuine concerns people have based on the repeated lies trotted out by the coalition helps all of us grow stronger and more sure and broadens our support.
We have nine weeks. Together we can make history. Together we can force this government to listen to the people whose votes they stole by lying to win power.
Those with the broadest shoulders are shrugging off their load and leaving it to the weakest and most vulnerable to pay for the mistakes of the bankers. Let’s send a message out that our democracy is not for sale. It is our votes that confer power not private donations to party coffers.
Let’s work together to pool all of our skills and resources and make our message heard. The cuts are not the cure. Our country is not for sale.
if you are interested in writing a blog piece for the UK Uncut site, please send it to ukuncut@gmail.com for consideration.
Our response to their PR
Posted on Sun 6th Feb 2011, 9:20pmWhile doing press work over the past three months we have noticed that journalists never ask us for any response on what the companies we have targeted have said in response to our protests.
So, we offer them here...
PHILIP GREEN
What we said: "Philip Green sits on a personal wealth of some £4bn and yet has registered his business into his wife's name, who lives in the tax-haven of Monaco. Therefore, in 2005, when he paid himself a whopping dividend of £1.2bn he managed to avoid £285m in tax. Despite this, David Cameron seems to think he is an appropriate man to advise the government on austerity."
What he said: No comment
What he said earlier in 2010: "I employ 45,000 people and have paid tens and tens of millions of pounds of tax over the past five years"
What we say: "Philip Green does not employ people out of a philanthropic intent. He employs people to make him money. As soon as he thinks that an employee is returning him less profit than it costs him, they will be fired. Plus, you cannot dominate a market, by taking over brands or by destroying independent retailers and then have the cheek to highlight how many people you employ and how much tax you pay. Those employees and tax contributions would have just belonged to someone else. Nor have we ever said he pays no tax, we have said that he tries to minimise his tax bill. That still stands. Why does Philip Green think that £285m is better in his wife's bank account than in public services?
VODAFONE
What we said: "Vodafone have managed to get away with paying £6bn in tax after 'settling' with HMRC after a decade long disupte.
What they said: "We pay all the tax that we are required to in Britain, we do not owe any tax, and the £6bn figure is an 'urban myth'.
What we say: "Vodafone do indeed pay all the tax that they are 'required' to. To do otherwise would be to evade tax. We have accused Vodafone of tax avoidance. You can be a tax avoider and still say that you pay the tax that you are 'required' to. It is also technically true that Vodafone does not owe HMRC anything because they reached a 'settlement', where the money that was once owed has since been wiped off. We are saying that it should not have been wiped and Vodafone should pay it.
As for the £6bn figure being an "urban myth". Richard Brookes who wrote the Private Eye investigation that came up with the £6bn figure used to be a senior HMRC corporate tax inspector and knew the case well. While Tesco took legal action over the Guardian's wrongful accusations of a £1bn tax dodge, Vodafone have not made any attempts to get the Private-eye investigation removed, despite the fact that it has sparked protests that are clearly impacting on their business. Vodafone have not provided any actual evidence of the deal made with HMRC. We absolutely welcome full tax transparency for corporations, just like ordinary people. Unsurprisingly, corporations and their accountants do not support transparency. Until actual evidence is provided to support saying the £6bn figure is wrong, the protests will continue.
BOOTS
What we said: "Boots Alliance, the owners of Boots have registered the company to a postbox in Switzerland. As a result they pay about 3% tax, therefore managing to avoid up to £100m in tax per year."
What they said: [we have moved to Switzerland because] "in the longer term we believe it will better reflect the increasingly international nature of our wider group...Boots has contributed to the UK's finances through increased business rates and national insurance contributions resulting from the expansion of the brand.
What we say: Apologies, we didn't realise that postboxs were a leading light in international business and language. We have never said Boots contributes absolutely nothing to the public purse, but Boots cannot deny that it is trying to minimise the contributions it makes to this country at a time when we face the deepest cuts since 1919. That is of course despite the fact that the Boots brand was built off the back of a century and a half of British labour and services. Boots pay 3% tax, which is probably less than the office and in-store cleaners pay out of their wages.
PHILIP GREEN
What we said: "Philip Green sits on a personal wealth of some £4bn and yet has registered his business into his wife's name, who lives in the tax-haven of Monaco. Therefore, in 2005, when he paid himself a whopping dividend of £1.2bn he managed to avoid £285m in tax. Despite this, David Cameron seems to think he is an appropriate man to advise the government on austerity."
What he said: No comment
What he said earlier in 2010: "I employ 45,000 people and have paid tens and tens of millions of pounds of tax over the past five years"
What we say: "Philip Green does not employ people out of a philanthropic intent. He employs people to make him money. As soon as he thinks that an employee is returning him less profit than it costs him, they will be fired. Plus, you cannot dominate a market, by taking over brands or by destroying independent retailers and then have the cheek to highlight how many people you employ and how much tax you pay. Those employees and tax contributions would have just belonged to someone else. Nor have we ever said he pays no tax, we have said that he tries to minimise his tax bill. That still stands. Why does Philip Green think that £285m is better in his wife's bank account than in public services?
VODAFONE
What we said: "Vodafone have managed to get away with paying £6bn in tax after 'settling' with HMRC after a decade long disupte.
What they said: "We pay all the tax that we are required to in Britain, we do not owe any tax, and the £6bn figure is an 'urban myth'.
What we say: "Vodafone do indeed pay all the tax that they are 'required' to. To do otherwise would be to evade tax. We have accused Vodafone of tax avoidance. You can be a tax avoider and still say that you pay the tax that you are 'required' to. It is also technically true that Vodafone does not owe HMRC anything because they reached a 'settlement', where the money that was once owed has since been wiped off. We are saying that it should not have been wiped and Vodafone should pay it.
As for the £6bn figure being an "urban myth". Richard Brookes who wrote the Private Eye investigation that came up with the £6bn figure used to be a senior HMRC corporate tax inspector and knew the case well. While Tesco took legal action over the Guardian's wrongful accusations of a £1bn tax dodge, Vodafone have not made any attempts to get the Private-eye investigation removed, despite the fact that it has sparked protests that are clearly impacting on their business. Vodafone have not provided any actual evidence of the deal made with HMRC. We absolutely welcome full tax transparency for corporations, just like ordinary people. Unsurprisingly, corporations and their accountants do not support transparency. Until actual evidence is provided to support saying the £6bn figure is wrong, the protests will continue.
BOOTS
What we said: "Boots Alliance, the owners of Boots have registered the company to a postbox in Switzerland. As a result they pay about 3% tax, therefore managing to avoid up to £100m in tax per year."
What they said: [we have moved to Switzerland because] "in the longer term we believe it will better reflect the increasingly international nature of our wider group...Boots has contributed to the UK's finances through increased business rates and national insurance contributions resulting from the expansion of the brand.
What we say: Apologies, we didn't realise that postboxs were a leading light in international business and language. We have never said Boots contributes absolutely nothing to the public purse, but Boots cannot deny that it is trying to minimise the contributions it makes to this country at a time when we face the deepest cuts since 1919. That is of course despite the fact that the Boots brand was built off the back of a century and a half of British labour and services. Boots pay 3% tax, which is probably less than the office and in-store cleaners pay out of their wages.
Press release: UK Uncut condemns political policing at peaceful protest
Posted on Sun 30th Jan 2011, 3:47pm30/01/2011
UKUNCUT
Tel: 07591 992825
www.ukuncut.org.uk
Twitter: @ukuncut
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UK UNCUT CONDEMNS POLITICAL POLICING AT PEACEFUL PROTEST
UK Uncut is issuing a statement condemning the use of pepper spray by police on a peaceful UK Uncut protest on Oxford Street this afternoon.
Before 15:00 outside Boots on Oxford Street a female activist tried to push a leaflet through the closed door of Boots explaining the details of Boots' tax avoidance to the staff.
A police officer then arrested the individual for "criminal damage". Around 20 people tried to help the female being arrested and 10 were subsequently pepper sprayed. Three people have been taken to hospital.
Anna Williams who saw the incident said "I condemn the violent behaviour of the police who have attacked a peaceful protest against tax avoidance, with three people being taken away in an ambulance."
she continued, "This is yet another example of political policing that is about protecting corporate interests and not those of ordinary people. We will not however be intimidated off the streets! We have a right to protest when the government are making unnecessary cuts that will hit the poorest in our society the hardest."
ENDS
This twitpic shows one of the people that were pepper sprayed http://twitpic.com/3uvph0
UK UNCUT CONDEMNS POLITICAL POLICING AT PEACEFUL PROTEST
UK Uncut is issuing a statement condemning the use of pepper spray by police on a peaceful UK Uncut protest on Oxford Street this afternoon.
Before 15:00 outside Boots on Oxford Street a female activist tried to push a leaflet through the closed door of Boots explaining the details of Boots' tax avoidance to the staff.
A police officer then arrested the individual for "criminal damage". Around 20 people tried to help the female being arrested and 10 were subsequently pepper sprayed. Three people have been taken to hospital.
Anna Williams who saw the incident said "I condemn the violent behaviour of the police who have attacked a peaceful protest against tax avoidance, with three people being taken away in an ambulance."
she continued, "This is yet another example of political policing that is about protecting corporate interests and not those of ordinary people. We will not however be intimidated off the streets! We have a right to protest when the government are making unnecessary cuts that will hit the poorest in our society the hardest."
ENDS
This twitpic shows one of the people that were pepper sprayed http://twitpic.com/3uvph0