Earlier today at 2:30pm the City of London Corporation found out that it won its bid to evict the Occupy London anti-capitalist protesters outside St. Paul’s Cathedral. A lawyer representing them has asked the camp to remove all bedding, tents and so on. The protesters are apparently highly likely to appeal the decision. The Judge Mr Justice Lindale said:
The City had no sensible choice but to do what it has. Conscious of its duties under statute, it gave the defendants an ample opportunity to remove the protest camp without the need for time and money to be spent in legal proceedings. It has, I believe, behaved both responsibly and fairly throughout.
This all started back in November when the corporation filed High Court proceedings after the Occupy London group failed to leave. The City claimed that the protesters were blocking highways that they own and they also had concerns over health and safety. Negotiations were attempted but they didn’t result in a positive outcome.
What would have permitted the camp to remain where they are? The brutal truth is not a lot. I wrote a piece for the Daily Blot last autumn that had a ‘wait and see’ tone to it; don’t judge them until they are gone, essentially. Well, now that it looks like they will be gone soon, it’s hard to think of anything that it truly achieved apart from raising awareness of a complex political issue.
Or, to look at it another way, in the Netherlands last year a social-media led group of activists that share many of the same political ideals actually managed to prevent bankers at ING receiving huge bonuses and start a period of what that article calls a ‘period of introspection and soul-searching’ What did Occupy London do? Aside from setting up their own cities and groups and organisations, very little. This emphasises the fact that in this day and age of protesting it’s more about what kind of action you take as opposed to just anything.
