Manchester block report

Fifty or so people from Manchester travelled up to Faslane on 6th - 8th November and 25 of these were arrested blockading North and South Gate at Faslane. We created a vibrant presence on our main day of activity (Tuesday 7th) with the arrival of our group on a 1950s Routemaster double decker bus complete with advertising panels which read 'Manchester says No Trident' ; 'What would you spend £40,000,000,000 on? and Nurses or Nukes? Trams not Trident? The bus carried Rhythms of Resistance samba group and other protestors on an epic 11 hour journey from Manchester to Faslane. Granted a police escort from Dumbarton we arrived at Faslane ready for action undeterred by the miserable rainy weather.

Our Samba band kept our spirits up and their colourful costumes added brightness to a very dull day. The Grim Reaper was also present, take a look at the photographs to see him.

We decided to block both North and South gates at the same time and did so with some success. The North Gate was distrupted for around an hour and a half as the police struggled to penetrate a lock-on device they had not encountered before.

On a less positive note we can report that the police presence at North Gate on that day (Motherwell District) used pressure points to try and minimise the length of time people blockaded for. Also, excessive force was used on one woman who was arrested (twisting her arm badly) which was not needed, as she was standing quietly waiting to get into a vehicle.

One surprise, for many was how easy it is to get to Faslane on public transport. We had people coming up for the day using public transport. Previous visits have been for one day actions, coming on a coach.. but its really easy to hop on a train to Helensburgh from Glasgow and then a bus (the stop is just across the road from the train station)which stops right by North Gate.

Overall a very positive experience, and many of us want to come back again in the Spring, building on our experience this time.

Manchester F365 group