Star date: 9th March 2014

GREATER MANCHESTER SHOWS ITS OPPOSITION TO FRACKING

Over 1500 people took to the streets of Manchester today to show their opposition to fracking, the day before a verdict is announced on the future of the Barton Moss Community Protection Camp.

Speaking at the rally after the huge march had snaked through Piccadilly, Albert Square and Deansgate, Colin from the Camp said that `pantomime villians' Peel Holdings - the company bringing the eviction case - is seeking to "set a precedent that the most visible sign of the resistance to fracking can be crushed". If the eviction happens, he added, Peel must "come up against the power of the people"…

Full details here…

Over 1500 people came from all over the Greater Manchester and beyond today to march through the centre of Manchester and show opposition to fracking.

Beginning in Piccadilly Gardens with a rally, the huge march - led by the Barton Moss Community Protection Camp and the PCS trade union drumming band - snaked its way to Cathedral Gardens, via Albert Square and Deansgate.

En route there was a noisy party atmosphere, with the police keeping a discreet distance down side streets, as people old and young danced, whistled, banged drums and chanted anti-fracking slogans.

At the Cathedral Gardens rally, Colin from the Barton Moss Camp warned that "we've reached a critical juncture in the campaign against fracking…"

Referring to tomorrow's High Court verdict on whether the Camp will be evicted from its current site (on the public footpath and access road to the IGas exploratory drilling site), he explained that the stakes were high, not just for Barton Moss but for the whole anti-fracking movement in the UK. And at the centre of the action is "pantomime villains" Peel Holdings…

"It's not for no reason they are wanting that Camp shifted" he said "They recognise the value of that Camp, they recognise the message of that camp which is reaching out across England...Peel seek to set a precedent; the precedent that the most visible sign of the resistance to fracking can be crushed. That is the precedent they are seeking to establish, and the stakes are very high here.

"This juncture does represent a crisis" he added "But the Chinese character for `crisis' is the same as that which represents the word `opportunity'. So my plea is that we recognise the opportunity this presents – and where Peel Holdings seek to establish a precedent that crushes the resistance, we use it to establish a precedent that will make them think twice before they ever take such a step again.

"If a corporation tries to use their force and their muscle they must come up against the power of the people" he concluded.

Annette Wright, President of Manchester Trades Council, also called for resistance and explained that "When we do stand up against greedy companies it is possible to win", giving the example of the Hovis workers in Wigan who, last year, won a dispute over zero hour contracts and the use of agency workers by striking and slow walking in front of bread delivery lorries which then couldn't get to supermarkets on time. 

"We won it because of the tactics we were able to use" she said "It is a disgrace that at Barton Moss people are effectively being arrested by the police for walking in the wrong place or walking too slowly. We have a right in a free society to walk as slowly as we need to, or want to, for whatever reason we want, and as we have done today, we must all walk together to defend that right."

Referring to trade union policy opposing fracking which "believes that all fracking activities should be suspended until such time that it is proven to be harmless both to people and the environment" Annette added that "There is not a shred of evidence that fracking is harmless - but there is a great deal of evidence that companies like IGas are clearly putting their own profits before the good of the environment and the good of the people who live and work and go to school around sites likes Barton Moss."

Judy Paskell, from the Campaign Against Climate Change, said that energy conglomerates were wrecking the planet…

"Shale gas is being put forward as a part solution for climate change when actually it's part of the problem" she explained "Don't let anybody tell you that it's going to be cheaper, it almost certainly won't; nor that it will provide a lot of jobs either…but most importantly it's not going to reduce climate change.

"The process of fracking and the methane gas that comes from it is not a transition fuel to towards a low carbon economy" she explained "According to some studies the emissions from the CO2 when you burn it, together with the methane that escapes when you're fracking, produces more greenhouse gasses than burning coal. It's not any better. We need to reduce the carbon fuel that we use."

MEP Candidate Peter Cranie urged people to come forward and stand in the local elections for the Green Party on an anti-fracking ticket to provide opposition to the mainstream parties which are all in favour of shale gas extraction, while Triky from the Barton Moss Camp said that "Nothing in politics will ever solve this…the only thing that can solve this is being human.

"Being human is what counts" he explained, calling for masses of `beautiful people' to turn up to Barton Moss every day to help the protests.

Photos by Steven Speed

See more of Steven Speed's photos from the day - click here