by Chris Newby, Hackney Socialist Party
400 people took part in an anti-road closure demo in Hackney, east London, on 26 June. The protesters we spoke to recognised that something had to be done about the pollution, but felt that the way the council had implemented the plans was not done with proper consultation with the local community. This was a mainly working-class demo.
People generally felt that the Labour council did not represent them. We handed out Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) leaflets and Socialist Party leaflets explaining that there needs to be the biggest possible number of anti-austerity candidates at next year’s council elections. And those that we spoke to generally thought that this was a good idea.