I was proud to speak on behalf of UNISON at today’s Defend Democracy demo in
Aberdeen yesterday, 31st August 2019. Almost 500 joined the hundreds of thousands across the UK to slam Johnson’s assault on democracy
for his own ends and to tell him that ordinary people will stand against
him and will not allow a no deal Brexit.Other speakers came from all the political parties standing against this outrage and from citizens groups representing those who have already suffered most from austerity, including Disabled People against Austerity, who gave powerful and moving testimony.
With thanks to Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary for some of my lines, and thanks to Fiona Napier, Alison Evison and John from Scottish Labour for the photos and recording. Unfortunately I can't get the video to load here.
The full content of my speech is below. Let's hope Johnson is listening to the hundreds of thousands of voices slamming his abuse of power and demanding he gets his hands off our democracy.
But this is just the start. We need to keep up the pressure. Johnson and his accolytes think they are untouchable. We need to make it absolutely clear that they are not.
But this is just the start. We need to keep up the pressure. Johnson and his accolytes think they are untouchable. We need to make it absolutely clear that they are not.
"Kate Ramsden, bringing solidarity from UNISON and delighted
to see so many people here
Because let’s be clear
This is not about leave or remain
And there will be some who see our future outside the EU
It’s not about that
We are here to stand together against a fundamental assault
on our democracy
Against the shutting down of our parliament at a time of
constitutional crisis
The sort of manoeuvre more suited to a corrupt tin-pot
dictatorship, than to one of the oldest democracies in the world.
That’s why we’re all here
To give a clear message to Boris Johnson that he’s not on
That he will not get away with his right-wing power grab
That we will not sit idly by as he closes down the seat of
our democracy
As he removes the right of our elected members to govern
As he silences opposition to what he really wants
Brexit
But not just any Brexit
And a no deal Brexit spells disaster for our people in
Scotland and across the UK
It spells disaster for our public services
Because make no mistake – once we leave the EU under
Johnson’s plan our NHS is up for grabs to the highest bidder with Donald Trump
already dipping his snout in the trough
Johnson says that proroguing parliament is not about Brexit
But he’s lying
He says it’s about a programme for government
He’s lying
Just like he lied when he told the electorate that the £350
million per week that was sent to Brussels would be put into the NHS
All lies
He has surrounded himself with allies who all want a no
deal Brexit;
Allies like Michael Gove, Sajid Javid and Dominic Raab who all
said they would never countenance proroguing parliament
All of them liars
And that’s not the only thing they have in common.
They are also all filthy rich, with business interests that
stretch far and wide
However much the warnings in Operation Yellowhammer come to
pass it won’t affect them
They won’t care
They won’t be out of work
They won’t face food and water shortages
They won’t struggle to get essential medicines
That put profit before people
If they had any clue about what it’s like living in the
real world they wouldn’t make immigration policies that exclude the very
workers we need from the EU because they won’t earn enough
Those people without whom our care sector and NHS can’t
operate
But they’ll never need these services so they don’t care
And this is even before we consider Ireland and the major
threat to the Good Friday agreement that is a no deal Brexit
A return to hard border runs a real risk of ending peace in
Northern Ireland
Johnson and his ilk don’t care
It’s well past time to say enough is enough
And to stand against a no deal Brexit in the interests of
the people of this country who are not in the richest 1%
We cannot allow this to be thwarted by Johnson’s scheming,
aided and abetted by Dominic Cumming
Because now we know for sure what Johnson and his acolytes
mean by “take back control”
They don’t mean bringing powers from Brussels back to
Westminster – they mean putting power in the hands of the rich and powerful,
and silencing opposition and dissent in the most dictatorial way
This is one of many many rallies across the country
Millions of ordinary people have signed petitions, written
to their MPs and taken to the streets
People just like us, trade unionists, community activists,
citizens coming together to tell Boris Johnson and his Tory acolytes to get their
hands off our democracy
To get their hands off our public services
To get their hands off our parliament
Boris Johnson has trampled over democracy under the guise
of standing up for the will of the people
That just shows him up for the lying tin-pot dictator he is
But by gathering here today, along with the millions of
others at demonstrations across the UK, we are sending a clear message to
Johnson that we will not let him get away with it
That this madness has to stop
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