I admire the idea and I hope it works but it is worth knowing that Spearhead were very clever in 2003 and spent a lot of money with the local population so many people welcomed DSEI and were aggressive to protesters because they viewed them as someone trying to stop this income stream.

Areas where Spearhead spent money included local casual labour, security, food and drink purchases, cabs and drivers. Don't forget as well that the majority of those who work at Excel throughout the year also mostly live localy and they earn extra many when a big event like DSEI is on.

I tried to set up links with local people and tried to encourage objections from the nearby community but found little success. The local area is very poor and people welcomed the money

If Mick is right (and he probably is) then the local people need to be politicaly educated, they must be made to understand that their desire for money must not be allowed to stand in the way of the fight against the world arms trade.

This sort of greed among working class people is disgusting and is contributing to the problems in society, if political education was included in the schools we would face less of these issues

"politicaly educated " Alan ?

What does that mean ?

It means that ALAN is a typical Middle Class Leftie who "knows best" and thinks that the only reaons Britain has not had a glorious socialist revolution is because the working class are too stupid to demand it.

the local area is not as poor as a lot of the areas where these weapons end up. That point should be clear too.

"the local area is not as poor as a lot of the areas where these weapons end up. That point should be clear too. "

So it's all right if Arms Dealers sell guns to rich countries then is it ?

You muppet

Mick's point is an interesting one and undoubtedly Spearhead has been forced, because of the adverse publicity it has received, to try and spin the benefits to the local community. It's what PR companies exist for.

However, I'm not sure they have been as successful as Mick may think. The idea that "the majority of those who work at Excel throughout the year also mostly live locally" is debatable - in fact, there has been considerable dissatisfaction in the Custom House and Canning Town areas that the promises made about the number of jobs the ExCel Centre would provide local people with proved to be false.

Moreover, the area is changing, so it depends on what you mean by local people. Even five years ago it was a solidly white working class area, but it has become far more diverse and many of the more recent local residents have escaped civil war and repression. in different parts of the world.

I also don't think that local people "were aggressive to protesters because they viewed them as someone trying to stop this income stream." In truth, I think the antagonism has been directed towards protesters perceived to be invading the area, having little regard for the people who live there and then buggering off when they've had their fun. It's good to see that a far greater effort has been made this year to at least try and engage with local residents but there is still a long way to go before this happens in a meaningful way.

In organising the public meeting on 5 September, we saw it as the beginning of a process. It is too late to stop the DSEi arms fair this September but we want to encourage more and more people to start questioning 'why here?' and 'why at all?' so that the arms dealers aren't back in 2007.