Local residents attacked by police

by Cloud

The community of Stoke's Croft in Bristol, who have been protesting against plans to open a Tesco for two years, was attacked last night as police in full riot gear attacked their peaceful protest. Scenes of violence ensued as police clashed with protesters.

Stoke's Croft, which has a reputation as a cultural hub, boasts one of the few remaining high streets in the country to be exclusively made up of independent and local businesses. That is, until now. Tesco, having been held back for two years finally opened its doors in Stoke's Croft this week. Protesters claim that Tesco already has several stores in the area, and that this one could severely damage the local businesses at the centre of this vibrant community.

The story is familiar in towns and cities across the world. When big corporations move in, small, locally owned businesses go bust. Most of us have seen it happen in our own neighbourhoods. Tesco have in recent years become increasingly expansionist, not only moving into emerging markets in countries such as China but in opening convenience stores alongside their larger supermarket branches in towns and cities across the UK.

Last night protesters gathered outside the newly opened Tesco Express branch to voice their opposition to the company opening on their high street. Youtube videos show a peaceful protest turning violent when police tried to move the protesters on, first by kettling, then attacking protesters with dogs and finally, violently charging the protesters down the street. Some of the protesters did fight back, such was the public anger at both the Tesco and the brutality of the police.

One local resident, a blogger known as Neuro Bonkers said:

I was dismayed by the council and police reaction to a sustained peaceful protest that has existed against Tesco for over two years. Until this week Stokes Croft was the last remaining major high street in the West of England inhabited exclusively by independent establishments. Tesco moved in despite universal local disapproval in an area already surrounded by dozens of Tesco stores. Despite the palpable disquiet protests have been entirely peaceful. This was not a volatile situation until police moved in to the area in full riot dress with no explanation for kettleing stokes croft except “health and safety” and “something to do with Tescos”. As police entered “Telepathic Heights” rumour spread that more raids on houses were intended. As this was not an unlikely story due to recent dawn raids on protesters houses and confiscation of computers and books over the last (xmas) exam period the community barricaded the remaining entrances to stokes croft and the police responded by charging the barricades, apparently for no other reason than for a fight. This action alone provoked violence from the famously diverse, educated, peaceful, loving and pacifist community of Stokes Croft.

With tempers high the situation deteriorated into rioting as running battles between police and protesters (and residents caught on the wrong side of police lines) persisted all night. At one point the police retreated, allowing the protesters to attack the Tesco shop as well as abandoned police vehicles. The riots lasted for several hours, as the police continued to battle with protesters who barricaded the entrances to Stoke's Croft. In this video shows scenes as protesters built barricades, and caused damage to Tesco's facade. We later see a stand-off with police, in which a few protesters throw missiles while cries of "Pacifism! Stop being aggressive!" come from other sections of the crowd.

Josh Kility, a local resident contacted The Leftists. He was not at the protest himself, but watched a live stream online from a mobile phone. He did look around this morning and took some pictures.

When you get up to the Stokes Croft junction with Ashley Road you could see police were still very much in presence with cones everywhere and the who Tesco area sealed off with CSI doing there work, I looked closer and you could see on the Tesco window 'Closing Down Sale' which was written on during the night with red graffati, the whole Tesco shop looking appsolutly thrashed [all sic]

He went on to say:

I personally think thta having a Tesco in stokes croft is totally not acceptable , it is the cultural area of the city , you've got local traders trying to make there money and here comes along Tesco and starts putting traders out buisness , ofcourse people are going to be angry , If you walk half a mile either way you'll fine a different Tesco so why must there be a Tesco in Stokes Croft? It's obvious that locals dont want Tesco there so why dont Tesco listen to locals and not open the new store

A press release by Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which covers Bristol, says that 8 arrests were made in total. It also claims that some of the protesters were arrested on suspicion of making petrol bombs, something widely denied by eyewitnesses on Twitter.

Photograph: Josh Kility. Grafiti on Tesco's Stokes Croft branch reads: 'Closing Down Sale'

The cuts bite - but there is an alternative

The cuts really are beginning to bite. Earlier today the ever fantastic Robin Hood Tax campaign posted this video on Facebook. 

The video documents the issues facing the Community Links charity in Newham, East London as it struggles to deal with the cuts. The charity runs youth clubs, play schemes and community centres throughout the area and are seeing the effects of the cuts first hand as young people struggle to find work, benefits rates change and services disappear. This is the front line of the government's assault on the country. The area of Newham, the video tells us, is facing cuts of £75m over the next four years. A Robin Hood Tax, in which banks and financial institutions are taxed just 0.05% on financial transactions could pay for these cuts in just 1.7 days. This is further proof that the government's cuts are ideological, refusing to see any alternative to its rampant attack on the most vulnerable. 

Over the next few weeks the impact of these cuts will become clearer, as we begin to face the harsh reality of spending cuts. 

Why the French are wrong to ban the burqa.

I don't like religion. Religion leaves a horrible taste in my mouth. I don't like Christians who want everyone to know about it. I don't like what it can do to people in the extreme cases. I don't like the resistance to reasoned debate it breeds - "how dare you challenge my religion" is often used in the same way as "how dare you bring up the death of my child". I don't like the ways in which the Abrahamic religions have stifled our attitudes to sex, and sexual equality for centuries - even secular people are still prone to the sexually repressive values which still permeate Western Europe. I don't like burqas - they are a potent symbol of sexual repression, gender inequality and patriarchy.

Yet I will fight to the death for people's right to have a faith. The far left made a mistake when it took the phrase "opiate of the people" too literally in the twentieth century. Decades of religious oppression and division have left scars across Russia, China and elsewhere which are only beginning to heal. The far left made a mistake in rejecting liberalism. I have always felt that at its heart, the socialist society we on the left seek should be more free and more democratic than any other. There is no one left on the left who wouldn't say that the Soviet Union was a repressive, distopian nightmare state. We agree that liberalism (which protects individuals and communities alike) is, and should remain a core value of the left.

The new threat to the rights of individuals and communities comes from the right. An ever more mainstream and centrist right, which is rejecting its own liberal values and pandering to xenophobia and division. It is not just far right nutters like the EDL, BNP or the French Front National we have to worry about. Cameron has recently claimed that multi-culturalism doesn't work, and wants to instill a so-called "British identity" into our culture (I'll ignore for now my view that there is no unified British identity). Centre-right governments across Europe are making assaults on Islam. The Swiss banned the building of minarets on mosques (yet church spires are fine). The French ban on the burqa came into effect this week.

The French have always had a secular society. It was one of the founding principles of their revolution in the late eighteenth century. There was a strict separation of the church and state - something I agree with. When they banned the wearing of religious items in schools in 2004 (including muslim headscarves), I felt this was perfectly fine. Children ought to have a secular schooling and be allowed to think and choose for themselves when they are old enough. But the banning of the burqa is not secularism, no matter how much the French government hide behind its banner. This ban directly singles out Islam, and it prevents some of its believers from practicing their religion (though, of course not all muslims believe the burqa to be necessary, some do). This is yet more pandering to the right, "security-conscious", xenophobes, racists, Christian fundamentalists. It not only reflects, but in fact serves to intensify hostilities between east and west.

If we really want to be constructive in tackling fundamentalism, perhaps try, y'know, being nice - stop treating the muslim world as an oil well to be invaded when we please, or treating them with suspicion when they come to live in our countries.  If Christians want to practice their religion, then they should expect that others will want to practice theirs - burqas and all, and that atheists like myself may want to have reasoned debates with them. Who knows, maybe we could all learn something from it. As long as everyone practices nicely, in an agression free environment - we're all happy right?

What do you think? We're interested to hear your views on this. If you'd like to write for the leftists, please find all the information in the "Write for the Leftists" tab above.