Railway path: dates for the diary

An example of the appalling consequences of direct action involving a bucket of shit and a politician.

Here’s the beginning of a useful list of meetings where people against the BRT route on the railway path can get up, close and personal with the politicians responsible and let them see the whites of your eyes.

Remember almost all meetings are public and you are legally allowed to ask questions (as many as you like!) and make statements. Or you might prefer to just heckle and throw rotten vegetables at the elected fools, which you’re not technically allowed to do although you can rest assured it’ll really piss them off …

Details on asking questions and making statements are here.

21 February 2008, 4.00pm, the Council Chamber – Cabinet Meeting
Great opportunity to meet the whole hopeless gang in one go – transport boss Bradshaw, leader Holland and deputy leader Hammond should all be attending among others. Questions and statements allowed. The meeting takes place in the Council Chamber. It’s quite a large space but if you can muster a lively crowd of 100 or so you can pretty much own the place as there’s only seven of them and a few idiots in wigs to run the show for them. Some press usually in attendance.

25 February 2008, 2.00pm, (usually) a committee room TBC – Quality of Life Scrutiny Commission
Chaired by, the so far silent, Tory boss Bunter Eddy, it’s all about your quality of life apparently – so quite relevant. The rest of the committee is made up of backbench dullards who could do with being woken up. Sometimes cabinet members attend but this might be unlikely if they get wind that a howling mob baying for their blood might be in attendance. These meetings are usually held in committee rooms. If you can get 30-40 people in there then it can get very cosy indeed. Questions and statements allowed. Press unlikely to attend unless they hear of something interesting happening …

26 February 2008, 2.00pm, the Council Chamber – Full Council Meeting (Budget)

Big meeting this. If the council don’t get to set a budget they can’t run the council. As it’s a budget meeting no questions or statements allowed. It’s in the Council Chamber so a few hundred required to have maximum effect at this one as there should be all 72 councillors in attendance as well as a lot of senior officers milling around and a few press. The Campaign to Save Daycare used a budget meeting in 2005 to stage a protest very effectively. These are long, long meetings anyway; if they get disrupted then they can get really long and some of the councillors tend to start getting very shirty indeed. Potentially a lot of fun to be had especially as its down to the Lord Mayor Royston Griffey to chair and keep order – a man who’d struggle to control a WI sub-committee on needlecraft.

More to follow soon …