A shopping centre manager and security staff attacked the longstanding Socialist Worker stall in Wood Green, north London two weekends ago. This is the latest incident in a long battle for socialists and community activists to run stalls down a high street that the shopping centre increasingly claims as its property.
Police arrested the manager for criminal damage to our stall. This is not a regular occurrence. The manager was bundled into a police car to the applause of a large crowd who had gathered in the street to protest against his actions.
The damage to our materials included the destruction of an aluminium table and the ripping up of our newspapers and books.
It is important that street campaigners know the law and use it where they can. Whether a pavement is owned by a private company or not, people have a right to campaign and sell registered newspapers on all public rights of way.
The response from passers-by to the incident was fantastic. Many of them stood around for over an hour to shout at the manager and security staff that the pavement was not theirs and that we had a right to be there.
We had been petitioning against rising gas prices and demanding the renationalisation of British Gas. It seemed that this issue was linked in the minds of the public who supported us against the attack with their increasing concerns over the privatisation of public space.
When private corporations begin trying to claim that something as public as a pavement is now private property, they can arouse anger among people who may previously have had little sense of politicisation.
We know it and the public know it – the streets are ours, and the corporations can expect a long and bitter battle if they attempt to take them away from us.
We will continue to return to the same pitch to sell Socialist Worker and agitate for a society in which greedy capitalists own nothing.
Adam Lambert, North London
http://socialistworker.org.uk/art.php?id=15715
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