Matters of fact
Thursday, February 28, 2008 Yesterday's "I Want A Referendum" protest is reported HERE in today's Daily Telegraph. It is also commented upon by Iain Martin HERE. As Martin notes, this good humoured, well-mannered event was overshadowed on the day by a small group of anti-Heathrow activists who climbed on the roof of the Parliament buildings (not as difficult as it sounds, actually) before unfurling banners and phoning Sky News on their mobiles. Needless to say this excited the media much more than 2,500 protestors standing in an orderly queue to lobby their MP.
From what I could see, the referendum protest was very well managed. Protestors were given placards, balloons and stickers to identify themselves. At one point the queue ran several hundred yards from St Stephen's Entrance to the Victoria Tower Gardens. Volunteer stewards were on hand to help, advise and reclaim all placards and balloons before people entered the security area and, from there, the House of Commons itself.
On the down side the event was non-party political but that didn't stop a handful of UKIP supporters showing up with UKIP banners. Likewise, there were a few eccentrics with their own, handmade, placards, but nothing to frighten the horses. The biggest problem was the average age of the protesters. Martin writes that they were "of all ages" - which is true - but the overwhelming majority were 60+. (The picture, above left, that appears on the IWAF website this morning is not representative, believe me!)
All this is food for thought if we want to organise our own lobby of Parliament. I am told that information about the event was sent to a mailing list of around 250,000 people. It was widely publicised on numerous political blogs and websites. Despite this the number of "working" men and women who turned up could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
It's a familiar problem. What I don't understand are those who say, "I can't get off work". Surely, if an issue matters so much to you, you will give up a day's holiday to attend a one-off protest? Or am I being naive? Or is it part of a wider malaise? The reality is that most people - especially younger generations - love to whinge and moan, but they are rarely willing to stand up and be counted.
Yes, often they've got young families to look after, but that's still an excuse. If you really, passionately, believe in something - especially something that is being taken away from you - you will make the effort to protest, in person. If you're not prepared to do that - even once - then it can't really matter to you. Can it?
Reader Comments (8)
I was there and travelled well over 200 miles to get there. Having been overshadowed by a handful of activists, I would like to express my disappointment. The event was well organised and peaceful. Attendees behaved themselves impeccably, but sadly there seems to be no reward for good behaviour and has been and there is very limited media coverage of this event. Yes, a lot of the people there were elderly and were obviously brought up at a time when 'good behaviour' meant something. Perhaps there were 2000-3000 people there - I really couldn't tell from where I was queueing, but it will take more than an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale to make people of all ages wake up and actually aware of the value of such a protest in this country. I feel grateful that I was able to be there (as I realise many people have lots of different responsibilities) and proud of the fact that I actually went - however, it was a small bunch of young activists who 'won the day' and not us, the British people.
Simon, would it be an idea to organise "our" lobby in conjunction with other groups which are concerned about "big government" and which might want to join us?
Be great to involve other groups and maybe finish the lobby with a high profile artist/band/comedian/gig of some sorts?
Am I willing to stand up and be counted, yes, I'd say so. Is it likely that I'll take time off work to go and lobby Parliament? No.
I wonder if I'm representative of a certain mindset - I want to be left alone to get on doing things that benefit me and consequently my employees and the economy - but I am naturally disinclined to involve myself with protests, lobbying, marching on parliment, etc. I take responsibility for myself and see politics as the stomping ground of those who want power pandering to those who don't take the same responsibility. Not my kind of place in other words!
My frustration at the various iniquities perpetrated by HMG doesn't translate to action. It's hard not to think of yourself as one voice, and that voice being ineffectual. Even mass campaigns show no benefit from expressing opinion directly to Parliament - the pro-hunting campaign and the anti-war campaign representing opposite ends of the spectrum but being equally ignored. Just how low my expectations are of any result through interaction with the political class is hard to express.
I am keenly aware of the need for something to be done about our freedoms and the EU, but I've yet to see anything proposed that I think is a)workable or b)inspiring. Are we (young, interested, frustrated, individuals) out there? Definitely, more so than most people expect I'm sure. Do we talk about these issues? Yes. Do we want change? Again yes. How do you mobilise us? I don't know, I wish I did.
I take your point Simon but, whilst I would be glad to give up a days' holiday to support a protest I believe in, the nature of my employment means that I'm expected to take holidays at set times. The big kahuna gets severely agitated by requests for leave during contracted hours and starts questioning one's "commitment to the job".
That said, I'll have a go for July 1st once it's fully confirmed.
For if, as Tony Benn is quoted as saying, it takes lobbying and direct action to win democracy and not just mere voting for branded-personalities with public manifestos but private agendas, then I agree the ante should be upped.
Jay,
I think that this government is so incredibly arrogant and high-handed that it no longer cares about public opinion except insofar as it can utilise it to create the spin required to change it. I personally believe that HMG has now lost the plot and is either so deluded that it can't see that the game's up or does realise it and is going through the motions, demob happy.
A strong protest does, however, send out a message to others: to smokers who don't realise that other smokers and tolerant non-smokers are trying to fight back it offers support and solidarity; to anti smokers, both activists and intolerant non-smokers, it demonstrates that smokers are fighting back and demanding to be treated with respect, to those whose businesses have been affected it confirms that the way forward is to provide a senible solution and to the government-in-waiting it shows that the votes of smokers might be theirs.
This could also be the opportunity to mobilise the many, many others who want to protest about what is happening in this country.
And the time could be right - even the biased, brown-nosing BBC seems to have woken up to the fact that there is a mood of disquiet and real concern about the behaviour of HMG.
I am extremely suspicious over the way the "I want a referendum" protest was hijacked by the Heathrow protesters on the roof and I believe someone in the government was involved in passing information onto the Heathrow protesters knowing full well they would take the publicity away from the referendum protesters.
As yourselves this:
Isn't the security of the Houses of Parliament are like Fort Knox just to get in the public gallery?
As I read it in the paper these protesters just went up on the roof where people who work there go for a cigarette. How the hell would they know that unless someone on the inside told them - also how would they know how to get there unless someone gave them directions?
It stinks (not of fags) but of government dirty tricks. The publicity of a bunch of cranks are far easier to brush aside than the publicity of people who really care about the state of our democracy (if you can call it that).
Sylvia - I couldn't agree with you more. I queued for 3 hours and was frisked/searched before being allowed to enter. I was asked to empty my pockets and everything went through a metal detector. I went through the same procedure inside in order to enter the public gallery. Also, it was very simple for the media to show what was happening on the roof to take the emphasis away from what was happening outside at ground level. The timing was impeccable too. They were on the roof around 11.20am when people at ground level were starting to assemble prior to the 1pm official start-time. I felt as though this was a convenient diversion and another way of ignoring the views of thousands of people. It was a classic example of refusing to listen to the wishes of the people and showing contempt for them.