Month: April 2022

Exterior of M-shed museum.
news, Training/Learning

Bristol Radical History Festival Returns This May

History floods Bristol today. No longer contained in museums and archives it flows on the streets, in the news and in our political discourse.  Caught in the swell of competing narratives vying for control over our understanding of the past, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.  We can be thankful, then, to Bristol Radical History Group who, since 2006, have attempted to chart a course … Continue reading Bristol Radical History Festival Returns This May

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Community, news, Top Story, Training/Learning

Upcoming Events in May

We end April with news that the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill has passed through Parliament and will soon become law. However, true to form Bristol doesn’t miss a beat and the rhythms of resistance and protest continue. May is packed with protests against state oppression and events and festivals imagining a better future.  This page will be updated as and when we become … Continue reading Upcoming Events in May

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A woman holds a microphone whilst behind her a man holds a placard reading "Rwanda Plan Inhumane"
Demonstration, news, Petition, Top Story

Fight Against Borders Bill is Fight Against Racist Society Say Protesters

Campaigners against the government’s increasingly hardline refugee agenda say that resistance must go beyond opposition to immediate legislation and must tackle racism in politics and society more broadly. With the Nationality and Borders Bill moving through Parliament and the recent announcement of Priti Patel’s signing of a £120mn deal with the government of Rwanda to offshore asylum seekers from the UK, more and more people … Continue reading Fight Against Borders Bill is Fight Against Racist Society Say Protesters

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a crowd of 30 people looking towards the camera for a group photo.
Demonstration, news

Call To Protest “Cruel and Nasty” Rwanda Policy for Refugees

Bristolians will meet this weekend to protest Priti Patel’s latest demonic attack on asylum seekers.  It was announced last week that Home Secretary Priti Patel has signed an agreement with the Rwandan government to send asylum seekers, mainly men, arriving in the UK to Rwanda for processing. Under the deal, if their claim is successful they will be allowed to stay in Rwanda.  Bristol Defend … Continue reading Call To Protest “Cruel and Nasty” Rwanda Policy for Refugees

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Banner reads: "Bristol is Antifa"
Community, news

Anti-Fascist Activists Celebrate as Far Right Demo Cancelled

On the day far right protesters had planned to demonstrate at the site of the former Colston statue, the empty plinth was instead host to a celebration of anti-fascism.  Far right group For Britain had scheduled a demo for today (April 9) in protest against Black Lives Matter. That demo was called off on April 2 after a widespread response from Bristol groups who mobilised … Continue reading Anti-Fascist Activists Celebrate as Far Right Demo Cancelled

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Feature, Interviews and Analysis

We Need Space: New Film on Land Rights, the Environment and the Right to Protest

Throughout Bristol’s Kill The Bill campaign last year, one constant barrier between protesters and the public was communicating what “Kill The Bill” actually meant. The “right to protest” is a foreign concept to the majority who have never participated in one, and connections between protest and tackling the climate emergency or systemic racism were ignored by those more comfortable with the status quo.  The heartfelt … Continue reading We Need Space: New Film on Land Rights, the Environment and the Right to Protest

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Demonstration, Feature, news

Fixing Shoes With Sellotape: Cost of Living Crisis Rally in Broadmead

Yesterday, energy bills for households across the nation rose by 50% or more, adding to a rising cost of living that is leaving many facing the biggest drop in living standards in a generation and even at risk of falling into poverty.  Today (April 2) People’s Assembly Against Austerity held a rally in Broadmead to articulate the impact that the cost of living crisis is … Continue reading Fixing Shoes With Sellotape: Cost of Living Crisis Rally in Broadmead

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Seven students sit on the floor by a door as security guards lean over them.
Direct Action, Disruption, news

Student Activists Disrupt Controversial Speaker Yaron Brook With Noisy Protest

A guest lecture by a controversial libertarian was disrupted yesterday (March 30) evening by student activists.  Dozens of student members of the University of Bristol Liberty Society gathered in a lecture room of the Wills Memorial Building for a talk entitled “The Roots of War”, organised by the society. Shortly after the lecture began at 6pm, eight activists, part of newly formed group Student Action … Continue reading Student Activists Disrupt Controversial Speaker Yaron Brook With Noisy Protest

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Two people hold placards saying "UCU Official dispute" as a large column of people walks behind them
March, news, Strike, Top Story

University Pickets Come Down but Resistance Rises

The latest round of strike action by University of Bristol teaching and research staff came to an end today with a fancy dress protest.  Staff with the University and College Union (UCU) have been on strike since Monday (March 28) in ongoing disputes over pensions which first saw strike action in December last year.  Today (April 1) saw around 100 strikers join picket lines and … Continue reading University Pickets Come Down but Resistance Rises

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