From Peterloo to Extinction Rebellion & Prorogation: the spirit of protest lives
When the Peterloo Massacre’s 200th anniversary was marked in Manchester two weeks ago protesters from Extinction Rebellion were present and rightly so. Peterloo was about asserting the right to democratic protest and it was also about those living in and in the environs of the key city of the industrial revolution, Manchester, demanding democratic control over their lives and the environment they were in.
Two weeks on Extinction Rebellion are holding a 4-day protest on Deansgate in central Manchester
In the meantime Prime Minister Johnson, who had no comment on the 200th anniversary of Peterloo.has prorogued Parliament for a significant period in order to avoid democratic scrutiny of his actions in a Parliament where he probably does not have a majority.
There have already been protests about the prorogation and there will be more on Saturday and when Parliament returns on Tuesday. No doubt the protests will feature a range of views, as did Peterloo, but at their centre must be a defence of the democracy those at Peterloo were fighting for 200 years ago this month.
The late Marxist historian E P Thompson argued that the traditions of protest in the working class and radicalism could still be mobilised for positive change.
But the opportunity is there within the logic of our past itinerary. The lines of British culture still run vigorously to the point of change where our traditions and organizations cease to be defensive and become affirmative forces: the country becomes our own.
E P Thompson, Writing By Candlelight
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