The Peterloo massacre.

[Hibrandenburg]

Just watched a clip on Sky News about the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre and it got me thinking that there are many parallels to today that led up to the incident:

Social unrest

Desire for parliamentary reform

Austerity induced through greed from industrialists

Hardline right-wing government not willing to listen to the people

Massive wage dumping


Tariffs imposed on European grain imports leading to massive hikes in prices on poorer quality British grain

Increase in political radicalism caused by the alienation of large swaths of the population

I'm a big history buff and believe we can learn a lot from the past, but only if we listen to it. Is history about to repeat itself again and could we have avoided it if we actually learned from past mistakes?

[Hibernia&Alba]

Plenty of events on in Manchester just now commemorating the massacre. It's a key event on the road to universal suffrage, thought their demands were much more modest, re-dating the demands of the Chartists and Suffragists.

It's a cliché, but it's literally true that people gave their lives for the right to vote, so use it.

[southsider]

Churchill sent the tanks onto Glasgow Green in 1919 after a strike to abolish a 58 hour working week took place. The Army Barracks at Partick were in lookdown as Churchill feared the troup would take the side of the strikers. Troops were sent from England with a shoot to kill policy on any striker still on the streets. The Strikers wanted a 40 hour week, a strike took place, the police batton charged the strikers who regrouped and attecked the police, who withdrew. The 'Riot Act' was read out and the tanks went in.

[weecounty hibby]

Churchill sent the tanks onto Glasgow Green in 1919 after a strike to abolish a 58 hour working week took place. The Army Barracks at Partick were in lookdown as Churchill feared the troup would take the side of the strikers. Troops were sent from England with a shoot to kill policy on any striker still on the streets. The Strikers wanted a 40 hour week, a strike took place, the police batton charged the strikers who regrouped and attecked the police, who withdrew. The 'Riot Act' was read out and the tanks went in.
Had previous even before that. 1910/11 Tonypandy in Wales. Well worth reading about.