Reinstate the Right to March

Right to Work is having trouble with the police over the planned march in Birmingham on oct 3rd. Here's their statement.

"We are alarmed to be informed that, despite earlier agreements with the Police and Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police are attempting to stop the trade union demonstration against public service cuts from marching past the Conservative Party conference at the ICC on Sunday 3rd October.

The march has been initiated by the Right to Work Campaign and is backed by three national trade unions (the PCS, NUJ and UCU), the Labour Representation Committee and a number of local trade union and campaigning organisations.

We feel that this is a violation of the right to freedom of speech and our rights to protest peacefully against the Government. Peaceful protest is a vital part of a democratic society and people have taken their opposition to Government actions to their conferences for decades. The decision of the West Midlands Police takes that right away. We note that Centenary Square will not be a “sterile zone” and that people will be able to access the area freely. By not allowing the Right to Work campaign to march past the International Convention Centre we are concerned that West Midlands Police is attempting to make political decisions about how visible protests against the cuts can be and are denying a basic democratic right to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.

We believe that West Midlands Police should permit the demonstrators to march past the Conservative Party conference on Sunday 3rd October.”
Signatories at the Birmingham planning meeting -
Councillor Ian Cruise Birmingham City Council/Birmingham AMAL CWU political officer
Councillor Chaman Lal Birmingham City council Labour group
Ian Murray Gen Sec Sandwell NUT
Martin Lynch Joint Gen Sec Sandwell NUT
Peter Christie UNISON steward Handsworth leisure centre
Claudia Campbell UNISON Chair Birmingham branch Black members
Godfrey Webster Assistant sec Birmingham TUC
Stuart Richardson Treasurer Birmingahm TUC Exec member Birmingham NUT
Nick Burke UNISON steward and Social work action network
Alistair Wingate NASUWT
Charlie Friel UNISON steward Connexions
Dr Sue Blackwell UCU Birmingham University and NEC member
Bernie McAdam Sandwell NUT exec member
Hugh Cansdale Chair of Birmingham UCU
Paul Bolton UNITE
John Rafter Green Left and Socialist resistance