Occupy Edinburgh
Part of the Occupy Movement
Occupy Edinburgh located in St. Andrew Square
Date15 October 2011
Location
Edinburgh, Scotland

55°57′15.12″N 3°11′34.8″W / 55.9542000°N 3.193000°W / 55.9542000; -3.193000
Caused by2007–2008_financial_crisis, United Kingdom government austerity programme, Economic inequality, corporate influence over government, inter alia.
MethodsDemonstrations, street protesters
Occupation of St. Andrews Square lasted 108 days.

Occupy Edinburgh was a protest against economic and social inequality as part of the global Occupy movement.

The "occupation" began with the erection of a number of tents in St. Andrew Square on 14 October 2011.[1] The site was chosen because St. Andrews Square is the historic centre of the Edinburgh's financial sector and location of the head branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which was partly nationalised in 2008 following its role in the global financial crisis.

Journalist Peter Geoghegan visited St. Andrews Square on the second day of its occupation and described the participants:

A large number of the 200-odd people on St Andrew’s Square were old stagers from the trade union movement or leftist political parties, but just as many were unaffiliated, concerned citizens angry at an economic system that seems to benefit the status quo and a party political structure is aloof, unresponsive and in hock to big business.[2]

On the night of 24 November 2011, Edinburgh City Council became the first governmental body in the world to grant both the Occupy Edinburgh and the worldwide Occupy Movement official recognition.[3]

RBS Head Branch, Edinburgh, with Jolly Roger, Christmas Day, 2011

On 24 December Occupy Edinburgh activists raised a pirate flag above the nearby RBS Head Branch, claiming it was "it was the work of santa".[4]

The group was urged to leave the site by Essential Edinburgh, the business group that manages St. Andrews Square, and the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber's deputy chief executive, Graham Birse, said: "We did not spend all that public money for St Andrew Square to become a campsite for those with nowhere else to go."[5] On 30 January the group relocated to The Meadows, a park within Edinburgh, before leaving this site a couple of weeks later ahead of a legal bid to have them evicted by the City Council.[6]

The occupation of St. Andrews Square lasted 108 days.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Occupy Edinburgh gains recognition from the Edinburgh Council
  2. ↑ Peter Geoghegan (16 October 2011). "Occupy Edinburgh, blog post". Peter Geoghegan. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  3. ↑ Rebecca Gordon (24 November 2011). "Occupy Edinburgh is backed by the Edinburgh Council". Local.stv.tv. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "Santa Clause flagging up objections". The Scotsman. 26 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2024. and Daily Record (26 December 2011). "Pirate stunt at bank HQ". Daily Record. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Call on Occupy Edinburgh campers to quit". The Scotsman. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Occupy Edinburgh protesters leave Meadows camp". BBC. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.

55°57′15″N 3°11′35″W / 55.95417°N 3.19306°W / 55.95417; -3.19306

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