The Future Of Protest In Nottingham : Whose streets? Our streets!
One of the MayDay organisers | 26.04.2010 10:28
So we tried Brewhouse Yard again. But this year, the council would not let us have it because there were going to be Robin Hood activities in other places. Please don’t ask us to explain the logic of that. But it begins to show how difficult it is to find a public place in which to hold a public meeting or rally. Aren’t the streets and parks our streets and parks? But the council believes otherwise, and the council makes arbitrary decisions.
Finally, the council agreed that we could use Victoria Park. But with this came a plethora of regulations, including: litter picking in the surrounding area as well as the park; displaying their logo on publicity; risk assessments; first aid; displaying their banners if they wanted us to; etc, etc. We had to get public liability insurance for the use of the park. And there was a charge. Whose parks? Our parks!
Next, there was the route for the march to be agreed. We have always had police permission for the route in the past – not because we all believe that a protest should be agreed by the forces of the state, but because we believed it would make a safer, more family-friendly environment, where first-time marchers would feel comfortable. It had never been difficult to get this police permission before. This year, however, the system has changed. Instead of asking the usual man at the cop shop, a council official is now in charge of permitting the streets to be used for protest. (Apparently this is at the request of the police “because the streets belong to the council”. Whose streets? Our streets!)
Despite having public liability insurance for the use of the park, we had to get another lot of public liability insurance for the rally.
Well, we got permission. But during this, we found out about Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs). These mean that, to march along a public street – and therefore close it to traffic – costs money. In Nottingham, it is around £400. A Temporary Traffic Regulation Order is made by a Council when it is necessary to prohibit or control vehicular and / or pedestrian traffic along the highway. The Council can make a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order to cover planned situations, or can issue an Emergency Notice if regulation is needed without delay. TTROs are normally used to allow essential or emergency works to be carried out on the highway, typically installation of, or maintenance works to, services such as gas, electricity, water etc. And, apparently, political protest.
All this has alarming implications for the future of political and popular protest. Already we have seen the Square become a showcase for Council and corporate gloating and self-aggrandizement rather than a meeting place for the people. Access to the Council House has become more restricted as it seems the people were wearing out the fabric of the grand building. Now the council’s authoritarian and money-grabbing control of the parks and streets make it more and more difficult to organise any autonomous public activities at all. It’s either proud, ambitious, cleaner, safer and full of corporate snot, or it’s not allowed. TTROs are effectively a tax on protest.
Imagine you want a protest march against poverty – well, you’ll have to pay for it. Imagine you’ll want a protest march against some council policy – well, you’ll need council permission.
In this country, you now have to bribe the council and the police before you can protest. Let’s not take this lying down. Lying down probably needs a licence and a risk assessment anyway. Keep protesting and keep marching.
And please support the May Day march and rally this year – see http://nottinghamshire.indymedia.org.uk/2010/04/448550.html and FIGHT BACK!
(May Day Saturday May 1st 11am onwards at Victoria Park, Bath Street, near Sneinton Market. March at 12 noon. Music, stalls and speakers before and after the march.)
One of the MayDay organisers
e-mail:
boraxwoman-mayday@yahoo.co.uk
Comments
Hide the following 10 comments
Very interesting article
26.04.2010 12:22
Maybe that's an idea for next year? God knows we need to put the struggle back into workers' struggle.
MayDayista
Can you try to
26.04.2010 16:41
Shouting "who's streets ? Arse Treats" although highly comical doesn't make sense.
Have a listen next time you hear the chant.
Listener
And another thing ...
26.04.2010 16:57
The saying 'it takes two to tango' is very relevant.
So what if the council want you to have PLI ? That's what you get for being an organiser.
"I'm not the organiser, I'm just the person who picked up the phone"
"I'm not organising these people, I'm just concerned for their safety"
"I've no idea where everyone else came from, I just saw the crowd and decided to join in"
In an age of viral marketing, is it beyond the capabilities of those *not* organising the event which definitely *isn't* organised by anyone, to let people know that some people may be walking down a street at a certain time and if the urge takes them they may decide themselves to walk into a public space of their own free will ?
Think about it, worked well for us 20 years ago.
Listener
unofficial is the only way
26.04.2010 17:15
-
Often the best thing to do
26.04.2010 17:42
Just doing it - people just happening to turn up, etc, is definitely a way forward I would support fully. But these restrictive measures from council/police are important, because a happy, safe, legal march is many people's way into protest. Viral marketing will mostly only pull in practising activists, and in that way our numbers will never grow. That's why it's important to be able to organise marches and rallies legally too.
The greater the restrictions, the fewer marches there will be. And the less marching will be seen as a part of our culture. Instead, it could increasingly be seen as something done by 'nutters' - who people then don't worry about being beaten up or whatever.
Also, whether or not we get permission to use the parks and streets - it's still important that the powers are doing their best to deny them to us! They're OUR parks and OUR streets (and we can pronounce that in a comical or a sensible way).
There's definitely a huge place for unorganised protest. The majority view around May Day was that this wasn't the place for it. The protest that protests against these restrictions against protest should be a coincidence of people coming together . . .
One of the Mayday etc
Paying for Policing Twice
26.04.2010 19:02
Ross
protest
26.04.2010 19:29
karl m
Ok ..
26.04.2010 20:18
Flip it.
Deny 'them' 'their' "powers" by refusing to play 'the' game.
Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men (and women, obv)
RIP Civil Disobedience.
In 20 years time the only approved form of protest will be working up a MyFace profile which will only be officially sanctioned between the hours of 1am and 5am every 7th Monday and not more than 3 times per year.
Listener
Just do it
26.04.2010 23:37
It was with similar intent that the Rally for Animals in Laboratories had to jump through the hoops to arrange a march that brought 2000 onto the streets of London on Saturday.
However when Nottingham Animal Rights hosted the animal rights spring gathering in March, activists from across the county joined a city-wide (and beyond) Day of Action with campaigns against shops selling fur, foie gras and KFC, Greyhound Action, a demo against the 'great' British Circus, a vegan free food giveaway & McDonalds demo, a mass hunt sab and three minibuses of animal rights activists showing their opposition to the BNP. All this happened spontaneously with no request for 'their' permission.
See http://nottinghamshire.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2010/03/447794.html
Perhaps other movements are beginning to understand the repression faced by the animal rights movement for many years (first they came for ... ...)
Nevertheless movements for social change can -and must- learn from each other and show mutual support for each others concerns, hence the value of events like the May Day Rally. "One Struggle, One Fight" goes beyond human freedoms and animal rights.
Pat
hindered at every turn...
01.05.2010 19:48
So my point is this, we certainly need Reclaim The Streets style actions now, this is the time more than ever. some of you will know people who have discussed these ideas for ages, literally the last six or seven months. i certainly have had loads of 'chats' about 'wouldn't it be great if a reclaim the streets style....'
nearly everyone agrees, but where is the beginning of our organising?
we know, its everywhere, its who we know, its what we know, its our shared and common aims. its our comrades around the country, its our mates and our associates, its our 'history'...
lets reclaim the streets SOON.......
fran