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The Privatisation of Public Space In The Cities Has Damaged Our Right To Protest

One of the most common complaints regarding OccupyLSX (aside from them drinking Starbucks coffee and being students or ‘jobless lazy layabouts‘) has been why an earth they have been protesting against corporate greed outside of a 17th Century Cathedral. Why not actually do it outside of the London Stock Exchange, Canary Wharf or even outside one of London’s major shopping centres? Surely that would get the point across a little better? Well the simple reason for the occupation of St Paul’s Cathedral is that as great as it would be to protest at one of these symbolic areas of corporate greed, none of them are state-owned anymore – they have all been privatised and sold off to the highest bidder.

Aside from the obvious objections as to why a seemingly public space such as Paternoster Square (the location of the London Stock Exchange) is owned by a Japanese Corporation or why the park in the centre of Canary Wharf and the public areas surrounding it are owned by a multi-billion pound company the loss of these public areas from state ownership has caused a wider problem for the rest of us, the 99% shall we say, in that it completely hinders our democratic right to protest.

Whilst we, as the public, are legally able to protest in a peaceful way (within reason), this right is only applicable to public areas of the country and since the vast majority of public spaces in our major cities have been sold off our right to protest, and its likelihood of success, has been dramatically hindered.

Of course it has not always been this way as these seemingly public places were previously public-owned and protest would have been permitted. However, with the occupation of St. Paul’s clearly causing some problems and with Finsbury Park filling fast the privatisation of so many public areas has clearly had a lasting detrimental effect on our ability to protest. Of course there is always the chance that one of these corporations could give is permission to protest against them on their own property…