Acorn: "We came together to defend our city and speak out against the shocking 10% council tax rise by Bradford Council"

A perspective from the protestors ...

Acorn is a community union with thousands of members across the country. We represent the ordinary communities of Bradford; normal people from every walk of life. Yesterday we came together to defend our city and speak out against the shocking 10% council tax rise by Bradford Council.

Council tax is a regressive and unfair tax that rips off our communities and we believe it needs to be got rid of entirely but in the face of rising rent and bills and stagnating wages a 10% rise is shameful.

We want the council to stand up to the government and put the people of Bradford first. The council seem to think that they have to do it, that they have no choice. But there is always a choice. If they have to do it, why should anyone vote for them? The people are the priority always.

Acorn wants to see council tax abolished – it's a rip-off and we pay more than the rich do. Bradford grew rich from the blood and sweat of working class people, and now it stays poor while ripping us off. We're bored of listening to rubbish and lies from politicians – and Acorn is standing up and winning.

Before we entered city hall, we made sure all our members knew the plan and knew that we were there to put our point across peacefully. It was disappointing that Bradford Council security stormed forward and immediately got physical, lunging for the women leading the action and trying to rip the banner out of their hands while pulling it around their necks.

An older member was hit on the head by the security guard and said that “he came and grabbed the other gentlemen, he was holding the ladies, he nearly hurt me, he was very violent”.

Branch secretary Rizi Yasin said: “He lunged forward and tried to grab me. He got hold of the flag and almost strangled me. I had to try and get underneath it. He also hit an Acorn member that was sat behind me. He was very aggressive, it was really scary.”

Especially at such a height, the response from security was very unprofessional and endangered our members’ lives. Luckily other Acorn members stepped in to defend them and managed to stop the situation from escalating.

Rather than hear from their own constituents, Bradford Council called the police on our peaceful protest. Police asked members to leave and said that if we refused we’d be issued with a section 35 dispersal order.

Members agreed to leave but, concerningly, police stopped us leaving and issued us with a dispersal order, with contradictory messages from various different police officers. Officer Padwell, badge number 2067, was the senior officer at the scene.

He appeared to have no clue of what Acorn and the police had agreed and started issuing section 35 notices to all Acorn members present. Several police said to Acorn members afterwards that the situation had been handled very poorly and it was clear that they had lost control.

We are proud to represent the communities in Bradford and we are proud that the meeting was delayed by over an hour and a half thanks to the power of ordinary Bradford people coming together. It is disgraceful that the 10% rise was voted through but we will keep fighting for the rights and wellbeing of the people of our brilliant city. As we chanted in the meeting, “the people united will never be defeated”.

If anyone reading is having trouble with a landlord, council, bailiffs or just wants to improve their community and find out more about ACORN, contact Dave on 07508958011 or email bradford@acorntheunion.org.uk. If you are having issues with housing, bailiffs, or work, fill out the ACORN member defence form here.