Star date: 5th October 2015

WILL SALFORD JOIN THE THREE MILLION SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN TO STOP TTIP?

Today a giant Trojan Horse was inflated outside Manchester Town Hall, as the No TTIP campaign hit the Tory Party Conference. TTIP, or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, will lock Europe into huge corporate deals that could hold public services, like the NHS, hostage to big business and destroy democracy.

Speaking at the Say No To TTIP rally, John Hilary, Executive Director of War On Want, urged Salford people, and others all over the country, to join three million people who have already signed the biggest petition in Europe, and to make Salford a TTIP-free zone.

Full details here...

A giant inflatable Trojan Horse appeared outside Manchester Town Hall this morning, to symbolise the potential horrific coming of TTIP, or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

"One of the key areas the Tories are trying to do, alongside austerity at home, is to introduce these big new trade deals in favour of business" explained John Hilary, Executive Director of War On Want, which is running the UK Say No To TTIP campaign "If you think about the privatisation of the NHS, schools, water, rail...you name it, once you've put that inside a trade deal like TTIP you don't get it back. You've guaranteed to US corporations that they will get access to those markets forever."

And if they don't get access, corporations can actually sue governments. Highlighting the plight of the NHS within TTIP, which would allow American companies to take over services, was the 38 Degrees Save The NHS `ambulance' parked up alongside the Trojan Horse.

"Should we ever get a government that we can convince to reverse these trade agreements, it wouldn't be allowed to do so, as these treaty obligations trump any of the local or national rules" John added "And that's the reason we're here in front of Manchester Town Hall, because it's also about local democracy.

"Local government is going to find itself less and less able to introduce the type of policies it wants, whether it's to stop fracking locally or have positive discrimination in favour of local jobs and services, or to bring service back under public ownership" he added "All of these things become illegal under these big international treaties and that's why we're fighting against them."

While the Say No To TTIP campaign is still, incredibly, a bit under the radar in this country, in Europe it is massive, with the European Citizens' Initiative petition against TTIP hitting three million signatures last night – the biggest petition in EU history.

"Back in the nineties when they tried to bring in these treaties we defeated them and again in the noughties, so there's lots people can do" said John "They can sign the petition and put pressure on their local council. In Salford people could approach local councillors and say `We want Salford to be a TTIP free zone'. There's hundreds across Europe, so Salford could be the next one!"

To sign the European Citizens' Initiative petition against TTIP and to get more information see www.waronwant.org/eci  

For a general round up of today's protests - click here