On 16th August 1819 in St Peter’s Fields, Manchester, armed cavalry charged a peaceful crowd of around 60,000 people gathered to listen to anti-poverty and pro-democracy speakers.
It is estimated that 18 were killed and over 700 seriously injured. This was a landmark event in the people’s history of Manchester and in the fight for basic democratic rights.
The Peterloo Massacre Memorial Campaign held a protest on Sunday 14th August 2011 to demand the council provides: “a prominent, explanatory and respectful memorial to this major event in the history of Manchester and its people, and to those who died that day”.
The council has agreed to erect a memorial in St Peter’s Square, city centre. To ensure the memorial is a fitting one, the campaign specifically calls for the artist’s brief for it to be publicly available for comment for one month before being sent to artists and that the eventual shortlist of designs is displayed publicly for three months before a decision is made by “a well publicised indicative vote, open to all”.
Central Manchester Socialist Party wholeheartedly endorses the campaign and is helping to promote it. For more information visit www.peterloomassacre.org or join the “Peterloo Massacre 192nd Anniversary” Facebook group.
