This afternoon, Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, was seen wandering around Albert Square at the Peterloo Massacre commemoration, no doubt getting into the 'radical vibes' of the occasion.
Paul Dennett is also the Greater Manchester lead on housing and homelessness, as part of GM Mayor, Andy Burnham's team. Burnham, in his campaign to be elected Mayor, promised to help the homeless – but at 6am this morning, police and bailiffs evicted twenty homeless people who had taken up residence in the empty Cornerhouse building on Oxford Road...
"'I pledge to end rough sleeping by 2020'; that was your promise to the people of Manchester, Andy Burnham" stated the Manchester Activist Network after the eviction "That number seems to be very relevant today - 20 more people on the street sleeping rough; 20 more victims; 20 more statistics; 20 more possible deaths on your hands caused by your empty promises.
"You won an election on the back of victims like those evicted today and who you failed to support" the Network added "...You know our situation, you said that you understood and you said that you cared...Where were you Andy? Where was your support? Your words and promises are empty. Empty just like the buildings that we occupy, just like the buildings you asked for!"
Supporters also vented their anger on Burnham's Facebook page, giving him just one star reviews...
"I'd give him zero if possible as he's not stuck to his pledges, he's not making steps to tackle homeless people; he's making people homeless" wrote one 'reviewer' "You said you wanted to open empty council buildings on a temporary basis for shelter for homeless people. We had that building, we tried to contact you, we offered you warm welcomes...You kicked 20 homeless people out for simply seeking refuge, for a place to call home, somewhere private, safe and secure."
Another wrote: "Andy has suffered a morality malfunction, allowing twenty homeless people to be turfed out of a squat, making them vulnerable to greater hardships. Without a strong body of ethics, Andy has revealed himself to be another career opportunist and any further utterances from his mouth must be considered suspect and without veracity..."
What's all this got to do with Peterloo? Plenty, according to eminent historian of local working class history, Michael Herbert, who this week wrote a blog titled Remembering the Peterloo Massacre: 1820-2017 (see here).
Within the article he slams the Peterloo Memorial Campaign: "I think this has plucked Peterloo out of its immediate political, economic and social context, and repackaged it as a one-off event which is portrayed as a milestone on the road to democracy...
"And, at an event which was about political reform as a response to hunger, unemployment and poverty, which has inescapable parallels with foodbank Britain in 2017, they refuse to allow present-day campaigners to speak at the commemoration or even carry banners" he added.
In further correspondence with the Salford Star, Michael Herbert explained: "I would be in favour of the reading and commemoration if it related Peterloo to today's political issues, and was not hermetically sealed off in a sterile, politics-free bubble.
"They could have asked someone from the Grenfell campaign to speak, for instance, which many have described as 'social murder'" he added "The problem with these heritage events is that they present injustice and oppression as things that happened a long time ago (and implicitly are no more), whereas a glance through the press or on the net tells us the opposite. This was not how it used to be. As I pointed in my blog post, in 1919 and 1969, left politics were to the fore, unashamedly so.
"Also a sole focus on the death and injuries on the day portrays the people of Manchester and elsewhere as victims only...whereas the months and weeks before Peterloo were full of meetings and organisation by the radicals which attracted large audiences " he explained.
"The problem with memorials is that they very quickly become part of the background...they are static fixed objects, while in contrast social movements are dynamic and mobile" he concluded "...a fitting memorial would be a dynamic mass campaign for equality and social justice, against things like universal credit, austerity, zero hours, benefits cuts etc..."
So why was no mention made at today's commemoration of the eviction of homeless people earlier in the day, or of ongoing radical movements and campaigns?
"I don't think it's appropriate to say to this audience, 'These are the list of causes that you must subscribe to in order to say that you are in the spirit of Peterloo'" Paul Fitzgerald, founding member of the Peterloo Memorial Campaign responded after today's event.
"We really think that people should take their own interpretation away, and the idea that we're somehow de-politicising it, I think, just isn't true" he added "And this idea that we somehow rigorously ban people with banners...we don't, we just politely ask people can they not make this where you bring a banner for your own political cause.
"Peterloo is not safe, nor politically neutral" he insisted "But I'm not going to say 'This is the cause you should believe in, in order to prove that you've inherited the spirit of Peterloo'. We're not going to have a list of banners. We're not going to pounce on someone who brings a banner; it's a melodramatic interpretation of our respectful request to people not to do it; it's a simple and polite request.
"I thought it was really powerful that we just had the names, the idea that we've brought people back to the space" he explained "If you don't find that politically inspiring, and if you don't find the stories of people's sacrifice and if you don't draw parallels with modern day politics, you're doing it all wrong.
"I don't think it's an issue" he added "There is no way that the message we're giving is 'Don't get involved in campaigning'... Do get involved in campaigning! But we're going to leave it up to you to make your own mind up about what is appropriate..."
Mike Leigh possibly said it all in his message to those gathered at the commemoration this afternoon, and read out by Maxine Peake:...that Peterloo is "an event that becomes more relevant with every new episode of our crazy times..."
See also the previous Salford Star article on the Peterloo commemoration: Christopher Eccleston Reads The Riot Act – click here
Meanwhile, this Wednesday, 23rd August, at 2pm, the 198th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre is also commemorated with a Living History performance at the Working Class Movement Library in Salford. The event is free and no booking is necessary...see here for more details
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