Oppose Wandsworth council's anti-traveller racism

Submitted by AWL on 18 October, 2018 - 2:27 Author: Matt Kinsella
we are londoners too

On 17 October a protest was called outside the council meeting at Wandsworth Town Hall to protest against the Tory council's racism. The event was called after two incidents. The borough's Black History Month was replaced with a 'diversity month' in an attempt to depoliticise the event.

Additionally, the council had recently voted to seek a 'fast track' injunction to remove travellers from the borough, without the need to go to court. During the vote, the Tory councillors made several prejudiced comments, suggesting that travellers were all illiterate, and burnt their own dead in caravans.

The protest was attended by London Gypsies and Travellers, the local Stand Up To Racism group, members of Wandworth Unison, Lambeth Unison, and Battersea & Wandsworth Trades Council, and many Labour and Momentum members. Several Labour councillors spoke about the need to fight racism, saying an injury to one is an injury to all.

The Labour councillors then tried to challenge the injunction within the council meeting, and were supported by protestors in the public gallery, who chanted 'no-one is illegal', 'don't hate, negotiate', and 'traveller rights are human rights'. The decision was shamefully upheld by the Tory-controlled council.

Anti-ziganism and anti-Traveller racism remain commonly unchallenged forms of racism in society. The government's Housing & Planning Act in 2016 removed councils' statutory obligation to assess the specific accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers, proving this is a national as well as local issue, and given the rise of the far right in Brazil, the USA, Hungary & other countries, an international issue too. Protests will continue.

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