It's naïve to think the police NEVER misuse violence - it's well documented.

Short THREAD on #militant #suffragettes, who helped women get the vote

And let's not forget the brutal miner's strike, or the poll tax riots, which helped end the draconian tax, & get rid of Thatcher. ImageImage
On Black Friday, 18 November 1910, suffragettes were kicked to the ground, punched, & their breasts were pinched.

Independent newspapers, later banned by the government, clever photo journalism, & mass protests all brought the cause for women's rights to the public eye. Image
Elsie Flint, a militant suffragette, recalled in the 1970s: "People laugh & say what ridiculous things to do, but it was never done for fun. They had to get the notice of the public and that was their way of doing it."

The slogan #DeedsNotWords was adopted. Image
On 1 March 1912, around 150 women, standing in front of shop windows & govt offices in London's West End, simultaneously took hammers & stones from their pockets & smashed the windows,

"There was great confusion, they didn't try to run away. They were arrested immediately." Image
Victoria Lidiard recalled the attack: "We were stationed right down from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road - & then BANG went all the windows!"

An estimated 124 women were arrested. After this, the police used weapons & force to close down the Women's Social & Political Union. Image
By 1913, arson attacks were commonplace. One such attack greatly damaged an unfinished house being built for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd-George, who had become a hate figure for the suffragettes. Image
Avoiding actions that caused harm to people helped with the moral acceptability of the militant campaign. Except for Emily Davison, who chose her manner of death, no one was killed. Destruction of property caused loss of money & inconvenience, but no serious harm to the public. Image
And while suffragettes attacked cricket pavilions & letterboxes, not hospitals or military installations, arson & bombs do have the potential to hurt innocent people.

The good the militant suffragettes did has to be weighed against the risk they posed to members of the public. Image
Civil disobedience undoubtedly has a role to play in a #democracy. The aim of the movement was to allow women to play a role in the government of their country - but there is a tension between this aim & the violent law-breaking activities of the Women's Social & Political Union. Image
For hundreds of years, people have been forced to make sometimes difficult decisions about the extent to which concern for the greater good legitimates law-breaking.

A Government announcing it wants to criminalise protest will force many more people to decide.

#PoliceBill Image
And let's not believe for one moment that this view is exclusive to the Left:

"I think it's legitimate to say... if people feel that voting doesn't change anything, then violence is the next step" - Nigel Farage.

bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-pol…

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More from @docrussjackson

24 Mar
The working class is BY FAR Britain's most ethnically diverse class.

Virtually ALL w/c people are kind, decent, & not remotely 'bigoted'.

Instead of chasing the greedy or gullible 3 in 10 Tory voters, @UKLabour should listen to & inspire the 7 in 10 voters who didn't vote Tory. ImageImageImage
And yes, you read that right: less than 3 in 10 of the electorate voted for the @Conservatives in the 2019 general election - and now they want criminalise protest. ImageImageImage
Votes/seat #GE2019:

Tory 38K
Labour 50K
LibDems 336K
Greens 886K

Of the 47,074,800 registered voters, 67.3% voted in #GE2019. Of those, 43.6% voted Tory.

This means that *LESS THAN 3 in 10 OF THE ELECTORATE* secured the Tories an 80 seat majority.

It's simply ridiculous. ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
22 Mar
British people deserve MUCH better than a Govt of delusional backward-looking bankers, bigots, bullies & lobbyists, headed by a sociopathic liar, & supported by a fawning media owned by billionaires & populated with free-market cranks, charlatans, grifters & Little Englanders.
Thought for the day:

Less than 3 in 10 of the electorate voted for the @Conservatives in the 2019 general election - and now they want criminalise protest.
Votes/seat #GE2019:

Tory 38K
Labour 50K
LibDems 336K
Greens 886K

Of the 47,074,800 registered voters, 67.3% voted in #GE2019. Of those, 43.6% voted Tory.

This means that *LESS THAN 3 in 10 OF THE ELECTORATE* secured the Tories an 80 seat majority. 🤯
Read 6 tweets
18 Mar
Stumbled across the ‘COMPETITION AND MARKETS AUTHORITY 21ST CENTURY FOX / SKY MERGER INQUIRY’ - Notes of a hearing with @afneil, held18 October 2017.

Imho, it’s a really fascinating read, & gives us a few clues about the likely direction of #GBNews.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a02fa15…
Asked what's required by a broadcaster who has commitment to UK broadcast standards:

AN: “To be impartial & truthful & honest & to reflect all manner of opinion that reflects the great public debate that goes on in this country about a multiplicity of issues.”
Q "Could Sky News become more partisan whilst still, essentially, meeting the requirement of due impartiality?"

AF: “That would be up to two things. One would be a commercial judgement: is there an audience and money to be made out of providing that kind of service?"
Read 23 tweets
18 Mar
We need to understand the *real* Boris Johnson. He's not the bumbling clown act we're presented with, which has been cultivated to hide his grotesque incompetence, sociopathic lying, fragile ego & bullying arrogance.

Sonia Purnell: the truth about Boris.

thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-…
"Boris Johnson can change from bonhomie to a dark fury in seconds. His normally jokey demeanour flashes into a sarcastic snarl, his skin reddens and blotches, his eyes dart into an intense narrow glare and on the worst occasions his lips curl back to reveal wisps of spittle."
Sonia Purnell worked alongside him, sharing an office in Brussels, reporting on the EU.

"He has the fiercest and most uncontrollable anger I have seen. A terrifying mood change can be triggered instantly by the slightest challenge to his entitlement or self-worth."
Read 23 tweets
18 Mar
Britain's reputation in tatters, society polarized, the Union in danger, a broken economy, & 126,000 dead - all because we elected a #clown.

The @Conservatives know it.

The world knows it.

Voters know it.

It's not comedy. It's a fucking tragedy.

theguardian.com/news/2021/mar/…
His partner of 25 years threw him out twice after several affairs before he started cheating on her with 30 year old Carrie Symonds.

Even his daughter says he's a "selfish #bastard".

WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT BRITAIN that we have a posh, sexist, racist, pathological liar as PM?
Sonia Purnell worked with Boris Johnson.

She knows firsthand that he "has the fiercest & most uncontrollable anger I have seen. A terrifying mood change can be triggered instantly by the slightest challenge to his entitlement or self-worth."

Read 4 tweets
16 Mar
Tories go on about freedom, liberty, & 'the will of the people', then introduce the #PoliceBill.

In 1990, 200,000 joined a #PROTEST against the poll tax, leaving 113 people injured & 340 under arrest.

17 million REFUSED to pay, which DEFEATED IT, & got rid of Thatcher.

#FUCKEM
The poll tax riots were a series of riots in British towns & cities during protests against the draconian "poll tax", introduced by the @Conservatives under Thatcher. The largest protest was in central London on 31 March 1990, shortly before the tax was due to come into force.
In 1989 the All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation was set up by the Militant tendency.

Other groups such as the 3D (Don't Register, Don't Pay, Don't Collect) network provided national coordination for anti-poll tax unions who were not aligned to particular political factions.
Read 20 tweets

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