The Protest Campaign in East London
| “ | Direct action is a theatre, The media like that. A mixture of symbols & decision making – wars & celebrities. | ” |
|
—Allison, anti-link-road campaigner. |
||
By 1990, the majority of the houses along the route of the proposed road had been compulsorily purchased, but the demolition process had not yet begun. This led to many of the houses being let out temporarily to housing associations, while others lay empty. Several original residents, who had in some cases lived in their homes all their lives, refused to sell or move out of their properties. Large numbers of the empty houses were squatted.
Locally-based protest against the link road scheme was taking place, but the availability of free housing along the route attracted large numbers of campaigners from around the UK and beyond. The arrival of these experienced anti-road protest veterans gave impetus to the campaign and introduced skills which would be put into practice in the construction of "defences".
Sophisticated techniques were used to delay the construction of the road. Sit-ins and site invasions were combined with sabotage to stop construction work temporarily. This led to large numbers of police and constant security patrols being employed to protect the construction sites, at great expense, the delays and security escalated the total cost of construction by tens of millions of pounds.
The protesters were successful in publicising the campaign, with most UK newspapers and TV news programmes covering the protests on a regular basis. Desktop publishing, then in its infancy, was used to produce publicity materials for the campaign and send out faxes to the media. A number of "stunts" were carried out, the most notable being rooftop protests on the Palace of Westminster and at the home of John MacGregor, the Minister for Transport at that time,
To counter the campaign, the government began evicting residents along the route and demolishing the empty houses. In response, the protesters set up the so-called "autonomous republics" of "Wanstonia", "Leytonstonia" and "Euphoria" in some groups of the houses, going so far as to issue passports. Extreme methods were used to force the engineers to halt demolition, including underground tunnels with protesters secured within by concrete.
Read more about this topic: M11 Link Road Protest
Famous quotes containing the words protest, campaign, east and/or london:
“I take enormous pleasure every time I see something that I’ve done that cannot be wiped out. In some way ... I guess it’s a protest against mortality. But it’s been so much fun! It’s the curiosity that drives me. It’s making a difference in the world that prevents me from ever giving up.”
—Deborah Meier (b. 1931)
“Now, Mr. President, we don’t intend to trouble you during the campaign but after you are elected, then look out for us!”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
“It is the business of thought to define things, to find the boundaries; thought, indeed, is a ceaseless process of definition. It is the business of Art to give things shape. Anyone who takes no delight in the firm outline of an object, or in its essential character, has no artistic sense.... He cannot even be nourished by Art. Like Ephraim, he feeds upon the East wind, which has no boundaries.”
—Vance Palmer (1885–1959)
“One of the many to whom, from straightened circumstances, a consequent inability to form the associations they would wish, and a disinclination to mix with the society they could obtain, London is as complete a solitude as the plains of Syria.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)