Guest post: Meeting Points For London Action
Posted on Wed 16th May 2012, 10:00amThis is a guest post for the London UK Uncut action on May 26th, there are more actions taking place all over the country, find your nearest one here
It’s just under two weeks until the only London street party worth going to – UK Uncut’s Great London Street Party. You’ve invited all your friends, you know what bloc you’re going to be in and you’re ready to show that we won’t line up to celebrate the Queen and the Olympics while the government is destroying the services we hold dear – we will celebrate our resistance instead.
Here are the meeting points so you know where you need to be at 11am on Saturday 26th May:
The future’s not what it used to be… for women
Meeting point – outside 1 London Bridge
“Domestic violence victims don’t go and storm the local town hall to demand more help; rape victims don’t go to the local paper to complain that there isn’t a good service for them. They are invisible.” Women are facing the heaviest burden across all of the cuts – it’s time to show this government of privileged white men that women will not be an ‘easy target’.
The future’s not what it used to be… for the NHS
Meeting point – Opposite University College Hospital, Euston Road
It was in this hospital that David Cameron unveiled the results of the ‘listening exercise’, promising that the NHS would be safe in their hands. The NHS is now being starved of cash and sold off to private firms and tax dodgers, yet as we all know “The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it”. Show this government that there are still millions of people who still have the faith to fight!
The future’s not what it used to be… for the Welfare State
Meeting point – Waterloo Station Concourse
Half a million disabled people are set to lose government support, EMA is being axed and almost every form of welfare payment is being cut – this bloc is fighting back against the demonisation of ‘benefit scroungers’.
This is the most accessible bloc for the party. In order to maintain access, disabled participants have the option of travelling via a more accessible route that is direct and reduces changing modes of transport. We have checked our travel plans with disabled activists and can provide accessible transport from Waterloo to the party. So, if you’ve got any specific needs or you’re concerned about travel on the day, please email ukuncut@gmail.com so we can make arrangements for everyone.
The future’s not what it used to be… for real democracy
Meeting point – Parliament Square
The Houses of Parliament, the ‘mother of all parliaments’- home to a rich and disconnected elite forcing through law after law that the majority of the public didn’t vote for. Economic policies dictated by bankers and financial markets, unjust wars opposed by millions, and big business calling the shots on every decision – this is not real democracy. Join the movement for real democracy to decide our future together.
Things to bring! - A tfl zone 1-6 off peak day travel card so you can get to the secret party location (£8.50, best bought in cash) - Food – it wouldn’t be a street party without plenty of food to share - Water – you’re going to be out all day, so make sure you’re prepared with lots of water - Friends! – bring all your mates to this party, the more the merrier - Costumes – dress up for the day, your vision of the past, the future, or the services closest to your heart that are facing cuts – make it fun and spectacular! - Games & fun – we’re going to be out in the street all day, so bring fun games, instruments and things to do while we’re there - All the family – this should be a good day out for all ages from newborns to great grandparents. The Welfare and Women’s blocs are the most accessible for people with push chairs or wheel chairs. Please bring everything you need with you for a full day out, like a folding chair or pillow and the possibility of some standing, walking, dancing and stories of the past and of the future to share. - Waterproofs, warm clothes, sunscreen and a hat – you just never know! - Your rights – we never know what police reaction will be like, please come prepared with information from Green and Black Cross. - Tons of enthusiasm and energy – needed for partying, thinking, making new friends and creating a better future
Don’t bring: - Bikes – you may need to leave them behind for a little while (up to you) - Dogs (except guide dogs) – not everyone is a fan - Loads of booze – Quite apart from the possibility of limited toilets and overpriced bags of salted peanuts at the action, alcohol will dehydrate you very quickly (and may well turn you into a liability for others) - Huge things or heavy things – make sure you’re able to move around fairly easily and get on public transport
See you at the party!
It’s just under two weeks until the only London street party worth going to – UK Uncut’s Great London Street Party. You’ve invited all your friends, you know what bloc you’re going to be in and you’re ready to show that we won’t line up to celebrate the Queen and the Olympics while the government is destroying the services we hold dear – we will celebrate our resistance instead.
Here are the meeting points so you know where you need to be at 11am on Saturday 26th May:
The future’s not what it used to be… for women
Meeting point – outside 1 London Bridge
“Domestic violence victims don’t go and storm the local town hall to demand more help; rape victims don’t go to the local paper to complain that there isn’t a good service for them. They are invisible.” Women are facing the heaviest burden across all of the cuts – it’s time to show this government of privileged white men that women will not be an ‘easy target’.
The future’s not what it used to be… for the NHS
Meeting point – Opposite University College Hospital, Euston Road
It was in this hospital that David Cameron unveiled the results of the ‘listening exercise’, promising that the NHS would be safe in their hands. The NHS is now being starved of cash and sold off to private firms and tax dodgers, yet as we all know “The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it”. Show this government that there are still millions of people who still have the faith to fight!
The future’s not what it used to be… for the Welfare State
Meeting point – Waterloo Station Concourse
Half a million disabled people are set to lose government support, EMA is being axed and almost every form of welfare payment is being cut – this bloc is fighting back against the demonisation of ‘benefit scroungers’.
This is the most accessible bloc for the party. In order to maintain access, disabled participants have the option of travelling via a more accessible route that is direct and reduces changing modes of transport. We have checked our travel plans with disabled activists and can provide accessible transport from Waterloo to the party. So, if you’ve got any specific needs or you’re concerned about travel on the day, please email ukuncut@gmail.com so we can make arrangements for everyone.
The future’s not what it used to be… for real democracy
Meeting point – Parliament Square
The Houses of Parliament, the ‘mother of all parliaments’- home to a rich and disconnected elite forcing through law after law that the majority of the public didn’t vote for. Economic policies dictated by bankers and financial markets, unjust wars opposed by millions, and big business calling the shots on every decision – this is not real democracy. Join the movement for real democracy to decide our future together.
Things to bring! - A tfl zone 1-6 off peak day travel card so you can get to the secret party location (£8.50, best bought in cash) - Food – it wouldn’t be a street party without plenty of food to share - Water – you’re going to be out all day, so make sure you’re prepared with lots of water - Friends! – bring all your mates to this party, the more the merrier - Costumes – dress up for the day, your vision of the past, the future, or the services closest to your heart that are facing cuts – make it fun and spectacular! - Games & fun – we’re going to be out in the street all day, so bring fun games, instruments and things to do while we’re there - All the family – this should be a good day out for all ages from newborns to great grandparents. The Welfare and Women’s blocs are the most accessible for people with push chairs or wheel chairs. Please bring everything you need with you for a full day out, like a folding chair or pillow and the possibility of some standing, walking, dancing and stories of the past and of the future to share. - Waterproofs, warm clothes, sunscreen and a hat – you just never know! - Your rights – we never know what police reaction will be like, please come prepared with information from Green and Black Cross. - Tons of enthusiasm and energy – needed for partying, thinking, making new friends and creating a better future
Don’t bring: - Bikes – you may need to leave them behind for a little while (up to you) - Dogs (except guide dogs) – not everyone is a fan - Loads of booze – Quite apart from the possibility of limited toilets and overpriced bags of salted peanuts at the action, alcohol will dehydrate you very quickly (and may well turn you into a liability for others) - Huge things or heavy things – make sure you’re able to move around fairly easily and get on public transport
See you at the party!
An invitation from Rahel and Shirley: UK Uncut's 1948 Street Party call out video
Posted on Tue 15th May 2012, 9:55pmMeet Rahel (age 6) and Shirley (81+3/4)
Rahel and Shirley would like to invite you to a party. A street party – with a twist. On the 26th May they’ll be taking to the streets to protest against the governments cruel and unnecessary cuts. It will be a celebration of resistance – an alternative street party where we define the future we want to see. A future uncut.
Rahel isn’t new to UK Uncut, her first occupation was back in February 2011. She helped us transform Natwest Camden branch into a creche to protest against the cuts to childcare services. Rahel’s holiday club is closing down because Camden Council cuts, so she’ll be there on the 26th May to fight for her future (hopefully she’ll have mastered the art of making ‘balloon cake’ by then).
Shirley you may recognise from another UK Uncut video, Shirley is 81 years old and has been campaigning to save the NHS for many years. She recently got carried away (literally) whilst unelected Lords voted on Lansley’s disasterous Health & Social Care Bill and says the fight ain’t over yet.
Join Shirley, Rahel, and UK Uncut on the 26th May for our 1948 alternative street party. Bring food, friends and fun.
Go to our action page to find your nearest street party. Look out for announcements running up to the day. Get yourself some bunting.
See you on the streets.
The Jubilee is a national sedative- this is a national wake up call
Posted on Mon 14th May 2012, 1:58pmby Anna Walker, a member of UK Uncut
Cameron wants to see ‘the mother of all parties’. The Queen is old – celebrate! The Olympics are in town – celebrate! Ignore the fact that we are screwing you, your parents, your grandparents, your children, your friends and neighbours. Ignore the fact that we will monitor your emails, tap your phones, sell off the hospitals and schools brick by brick to the private companies. Have an extra day off, have a party, drink some tea, preferably drink some Pimms. But whatever you do, don’t remember the unemployment figures, the number of disabled people who are killing themselves because their benefits are stopped or the number of services you use that are being scrapped.
Don’t dissent. Don’t resist. Don’t protest. If you do, you are unpatriotic, a killjoy, a ‘dangerous anarchist’. We will arrest you if you put an anti-Olympics poster in the window, we will stop and search if you’re wearing a hoodie too near the Olympic stadium. We will pre-emptively arrest you and slap an ASBO on you if you dare to suggest that all is not well and try to do something about it.
UK Uncut also wants to party – but for completely different reasons. We want to undermine the government’s propaganda and the Jubilee pageantry. The idea of UK Uncut holding street parties of resistance came from anger that the government will use Jubilee celebrations as a national sedative and a justification to clamp down on political protest. We want people to remember and to resist the cuts being rammed through by the government. We want people to celebrate a different future, determined by everyone.
The last time the Olympics were held in London was in 1948. The country had an enormous national debt yet the NHS and welfare state were introduced. We are not saying that we wish we could go back to this time, but that the introduction of free healthcare for (almost) everyone is a good thing. That it is better to have some form of support for disabled people, children, single parents and people without work than not. We are not saying that Britain was a perfect place for everyone then or now. Discrimination against people of colour, women, disabled people, LGBT and queer people, migrants, travellers and Roma people was rife then and remains today. Colonialism was vicious and persists in new forms today.
The flag is a symbol which means very different things to different people from pride to football hooliganism to far right extremist views. What does it mean to be British? Again, it’s different for different people, so we’ve asked people with different perspectives to write guest blogs which will be posted on the UK Uncut site over the next two weeks.
We live in communities that make up this country. And those communities are suffering. We are asking- what do we want society to look like in a future Britain? You decide. You decide together how you want resist the attack on our services, rights and future. Do what works for you wherever you live.
As opposed to the sedative effect of Jubilee parties, UK Uncut’s street parties are intended to wake up new ideas, new connections and new collective power. They are not about celebrating Britain as it is or as it was in 1948. They are about defiance and the definition of a future that we want to see, where we live – that is determined by us all – not for us, by a bunch of men who think they own power, money, business, government, us and our future.
Cameron wants to see ‘the mother of all parties’. The Queen is old – celebrate! The Olympics are in town – celebrate! Ignore the fact that we are screwing you, your parents, your grandparents, your children, your friends and neighbours. Ignore the fact that we will monitor your emails, tap your phones, sell off the hospitals and schools brick by brick to the private companies. Have an extra day off, have a party, drink some tea, preferably drink some Pimms. But whatever you do, don’t remember the unemployment figures, the number of disabled people who are killing themselves because their benefits are stopped or the number of services you use that are being scrapped.
Don’t dissent. Don’t resist. Don’t protest. If you do, you are unpatriotic, a killjoy, a ‘dangerous anarchist’. We will arrest you if you put an anti-Olympics poster in the window, we will stop and search if you’re wearing a hoodie too near the Olympic stadium. We will pre-emptively arrest you and slap an ASBO on you if you dare to suggest that all is not well and try to do something about it.
UK Uncut also wants to party – but for completely different reasons. We want to undermine the government’s propaganda and the Jubilee pageantry. The idea of UK Uncut holding street parties of resistance came from anger that the government will use Jubilee celebrations as a national sedative and a justification to clamp down on political protest. We want people to remember and to resist the cuts being rammed through by the government. We want people to celebrate a different future, determined by everyone.
The last time the Olympics were held in London was in 1948. The country had an enormous national debt yet the NHS and welfare state were introduced. We are not saying that we wish we could go back to this time, but that the introduction of free healthcare for (almost) everyone is a good thing. That it is better to have some form of support for disabled people, children, single parents and people without work than not. We are not saying that Britain was a perfect place for everyone then or now. Discrimination against people of colour, women, disabled people, LGBT and queer people, migrants, travellers and Roma people was rife then and remains today. Colonialism was vicious and persists in new forms today.
The flag is a symbol which means very different things to different people from pride to football hooliganism to far right extremist views. What does it mean to be British? Again, it’s different for different people, so we’ve asked people with different perspectives to write guest blogs which will be posted on the UK Uncut site over the next two weeks.
We live in communities that make up this country. And those communities are suffering. We are asking- what do we want society to look like in a future Britain? You decide. You decide together how you want resist the attack on our services, rights and future. Do what works for you wherever you live.
As opposed to the sedative effect of Jubilee parties, UK Uncut’s street parties are intended to wake up new ideas, new connections and new collective power. They are not about celebrating Britain as it is or as it was in 1948. They are about defiance and the definition of a future that we want to see, where we live – that is determined by us all – not for us, by a bunch of men who think they own power, money, business, government, us and our future.