Two young people have called on Keir Starmer to cut out corruption and resign by ‘locking-on’ outside Parliament. They are supporters of Take Back Power, a nonviolent civil-resistance group, demanding that the UK government establish a ‘House of the People’- a permanent citizen-led assembly with the power to tax extreme wealth. [1]
At 9am this morning, two young people carrying a giant Keir Starmer papier mache head locked themselves in front of Carriage Gate, blocking access to Parliament. They could be seen holding placards which read “Cut the Corruption”. By around 10am police arrived at the scene and had cut through the papier mache head.
A spokesperson for Take Back Power said:
“We’re calling on Keir Starmer to resign. While Lord Mandelson is gone, the system that protected and empowered him remains. It’s time to cut out the corruption at the heart of our democracy. While corporations and the super rich are splashing their cash to buy access to ministers and seats in the House of Lords, ordinary people are struggling to afford basic necessities.”
“We need a radical overhaul so that democracy works for all of us, not just the privileged few. We have politicians in the pockets of billionaire pedophiles, they don’t work for us. We need ordinary people in charge through a House of the People.”
One of those taking action today is Alice Jones, 20, a student from Manchester, who said:
“It is absurd that we live in a country where 156 billionaires hoard wealth, splashing out on private jets, whilst ordinary people have to choose between heating their homes, or feeding their children; all while our country quickly descends into fascism.”
“The politicians in our country are failing us. Ordinary people are being left to survive with the scraps: a crumbling NHS, extortionate food prices, and ever rising bills. The UK needs a permanent House of the People. It’s time to take back power, tax the rich and fix Britain! Join us at takebackpower.net.”
(Left image credit to Jamie Lowe. Right image and main image credit to Will Colebourne.)
Also taking action is Bridie Leggatt, 22, who is also a student from Manchester, who said:
“Spiralling wealth inequality is leading us to societal collapse. Our country is the sixth richest nation and yet it is home to 4 million children living in poverty. Our political system doesn’t function fairly. We need ordinary people in the decision making seats deciding how to fix this; not corrupt politicians in the pockets of the super rich.”
“There IS a solution to inequality, but our government simply won’t do what’s necessary. We cannot let political parties use scapegoated minorities to distract us from what is needed: a tax on the super rich.”
(Image credit to Will Colebourne.)
Today’s action comes just days after the MET police began criminal investigations into Peter Mandelson, Starmer’s former ambassador to the US, over allegations that he passed market-sensitive information to the pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
New allegations from recently released Epstein files also allege that Peter Mandelson’s husband accepted money from Jeffrey Epstein after his prison sentence over child sexual offences. [2]
But the corruption doesn’t end there, recent research by the Guardian showed that almost a third (266 out of 800) members of the House of Lords have given donations to political parties, some 115 of them before they were given peerages. [3]
Recent media reports have revealed that Labour government ministers have met with the arms industry, banks and big oil hundreds of times, while half the cabinet have taken cash from pro-Israel lobbyists. The Party even offered sponsorship deals for £55,000 to allow businesses to host lunches for ministers at the Labour conference. [4][5][6]
Meanwhile, inequality is spiralling out of control. Student nurses say they are sleeping in their cars, going to food banks and relying on lecturers to buy them food, while nearly half of Brits would struggle to pay for basic necessities if they lost their jobs. Given this, it is not surprising that faith in political institutions has collapsed, with 87 per cent of Britons across all parties having either not very much trust in politicians or none at all. [7][8][9]
Take Back Power is demanding that the UK government establish a permanent House of the People- a citizen’s assembly chosen by democratic lottery, that has the power to tax extreme wealth and fix Britain.
Until the government makes a meaningful statement in response to our demand, we will undertake nonviolent action to resist the super-rich, who are driving us towards social collapse. Donate or sign up to take action at TakeBackPower.net.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] Take Back Power is a nonviolent civil resistance group in the UK. We aim to put the 99% in charge through citizens’ assemblies. We are ordinary people from all walks of life who believe that in order to fix Britain, we have to tax the rich. And we don’t think the rich should get a veto. We want the people to decide how we tax the rich through a legally-binding citizen’s assembly – A House of the People. It’s time for the 99% to have 99% of a say!
Join us to demand a permanent House of the People with powers to tax the rich and fix Britain.
[3] Guardian – Revealed: House of Lords members have given £109m to political parties
[4] Guardian: Labour ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in first year of power, analysis shows
[5] Declassified: Labour’s top team has accepted hundreds of thousands of pounds from pro-Israel funders
[6] Politico – Labour offers businesses £55K ‘lunch slot’ at party conference
[7] Big Issue – Nearly half of Brits would struggle to pay for basic necessities in a month of losing income unexpectedly
[8] Royal College of Nursing – Nursing students sleeping in cars, using food banks and struggling to secure jobs https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/Press-Releases/nursing-students-sleeping-in-cars-using-food-banks-and-struggling-to-secure-jobs
[9] More in Common – Shattered Britain
