Jun 24th, 2014
Water cannon petition hand-in
By Robin Priestley
On Thursday 38 Degrees members handed in our 23,000 person strong water cannon petition to Theresa May at the Home Office.
The Police have made an application to Theresa May for grant them permission to use water cannon on the streets of England & Wales. The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) says that the need to control continued protests “from ongoing and potential future austerity measures” justifies the introduction of water cannon in Britain for the first time.
But 38 Degrees member Neal started a petition calling on Theresa May to reject the application.
Neal says:
“I started this petition back in January for several reasons: partly it was because the case put forward by the police was contradictory and inconsistent, partly because I fear the weaponisation of the police force, but largely because I believe the British public would never support this if asked. And having collected over 23,000 signatures already I think we’ve shown that the British public do not want water cannon on our streets. The messages from those who signed, the support of the majority of the London Assembly, and the public rejection of these weapons by members of the police force has given me great hope that Theresa May will see sense and reject the request from ACPO.
But I think it’s important that we remember Thursday’s hand-in was not the end of this process, in many ways it’s the start. We need to keep the pressure on, keep the noise up, if we want Theresa May to hear what we have to say. She’s heard from 23,000 of us collectively, but individual messages from the public through email, phone calls, or even face to face from her constituents in Maidenhead could have a profound affect on her decision. Please keep letting Theresa May know that we do not want water cannon on our streets.”
Several 38 Degrees members turned up at the home office to hand in the petition along with Caroline Pidgeon AM who has already spoken out against the London Mayor in his attempts to bring water cannon to the streets of London.
A representative from Theresa’s office came down to officially accept the petition and ensure that it lands straight on her desk. Watch this space to see how the campaign develops and please share the petition with your friends and family.
