Protests at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Monday brought together a wide range of causes, from Palestine solidarity and anti-Brexit songs to animal rights, climate action, Waspi women and a major trade union campaign for fair visas. The demonstrations came as attendees entered the Liverpool Experience Campus, where they were greeted by sights including a crude replica of Andy Burnham’s head in a shopping bag, a woman in a full-body fox costume, and a man playing anti-Brexit remixes of pop songs through a megaphone.
Arrests at Palestine protest
Some protests had already drawn high-profile news coverage. On Sunday, Merseyside police arrested 82 protesters holding signs reading ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action’ on suspicion of wearing or carrying an article supporting a proscribed organisation. Detainees included 94-year-old human rights barrister Margaret Owen and Massive Attack’s singer Robert Del Naja. The arrests were criticised by Amnesty International as ‘a shameful attack on freedom of speech’.
Monday saw a smaller but enduring showing of Palestine protesters at the tail end of the security queue, with no signs related to Palestine Action. “We’re not going away. We’re here to send Andy Burnham a message,” said one activist. “The government might be making some of the right noises, but the fact is, the British government is still making us complicit. Burnham needs to act now.”
Anti-Brexit and animal rights voices
At the foot of the Wheel of Liverpool, anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray had set up with speakers and lungs, treating attendees to EU-flavoured covers of ‘I will walk 500 miles (to rejoin the EU)’ and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, along with the European anthem. “Andy Burnham is going to kick open those doors to rejoin the EU,” Bray said. “His hands are currently tied by the manifesto. But he has a few years to get the message out to people, and I’m sure it will play a big role at the next election.”
A zoo of animals was gathered on the protest line, including anti-fur and animal rights campaigners, a giant cardboard cut-out of Larry the Cat, and a giant chicken called Janet, representing Humane League campaigner Tabitha Peacock’s rescued hen. “She was being sent to the slaughterhouse because she was balding and no longer laying eggs,” Peacock explained. “It’s been such a joy watching her recover her feathers - and her big personality.”
Climate and pension protests
A giant inflatable baby-Trump was hoisted over climate campaigners opposing the expansion of the Rosebank Oil and Gas Field. A campaigner said: “We are here at Labour conference after the hottest summer this country has ever recorded. Heatwaves, droughts, wildfires. A summer that should have made the need for climate action impossible to ignore.”
Waspi women shared their ‘great hope’ for Andy Burnham, who as Mayor championed their cause. “I started working when I was 15 years old, through to 60,” said June Stansfield. “We’ve had an apology from the government, but that’s not enough. We deserve compensation.”
Unison’s Fair Visa Campaign
The biggest protest on Monday was Unison’s Fair Visa Campaign. Hundreds of visa-holders marched around the docks, sang songs, and held speeches against Shabana Mahmood’s proposed settlement changes, which would raise the time migrant workers must live and work in the UK before applying for settled status from five to fifteen years. “We work here, we have families here, we have a right to be here,” a campaigner said. “Five years is British. Fifteen years is un-British.”
Andrea Egan, UNISON general secretary, said: “The NHS, social care, and other essential services rely on the hard work of migrant staff. People came to this country to help look after our loved ones on the promise of being able to settle in the country after five years. Now the government is breaking that promise with the threat of up to 15 years of insecurity and exploitation. The government must drop these plans.”
Overall, the protests were a clamour of voices, songs, chants, drums, and brass bands. Several attendees commented ‘it’s all a bit much’ as they brushed past dozens of people competing to hand out flyers. But in a conference where everyone seems to broadly agree, other voices may be all the more vital.
