May urged to apologise for Tory role in Peterloo Massacre
PARTY IN POWER DURING ‘MOST TRAGIC AND VIOLENT POLITICAL EVENT’ IN 1819
THERESA May has been urged to issue a public apology for the Peterloo Massacre 200 years on.
The Tory Party was in government when in August, 1819, cavalrymen armed with sabres charged a peaceful gathering of protesters in the heart of Manchester, leaving up to 18 dead and several hundred injured.
Tens of thousands had gathered to listen to anti-poverty and pro-democracy speeches as the hated Corn Laws began to bite and the milestone anniversary will be marked at the exact location this year with the unveiling of a memorial designed by Turner Prizewinning artist Jeremy Deller.
Outrage at the slaughter led eventually to political change and parliamentary reform, which today can be linked to the rise of trade unionism. Historian and writer Ed Glinert has now penned an open letter to the party and the prime minister, calling for an apology.
Mr Glinert, who leads historical walking tours in Manchester, called ‘shameful’ Peterloo ‘the most tragic and violent political event in British history.’
In his letter, Mr Glinert says: “That day, a crowd of more than 60,000 people congregated in a public space in the centre of Manchester to demonstrate for the right to vote and for an end to unjust laws. This peaceful crowd, exercising what people would now cite as a basic right to protest, was mercilessly attacked by troops sent in by magistrates intent on brutally dispersing the meeting. A dozen people, maybe more, were killed that day. Others died from their injuries over the next few weeks. More than six hundred sustained injuries.
“Peterloo has gone down as one of the most shameful episodes in British history. The government of the time was a Tory government led by Lord Liverpool [Robert Jenkinson], supported by Lords Castlereagh, Sidmouth and Eldon. Sadly, these peers supported the actions of the magistrates and the troops. They offered no explanation or apology for the tragedy that took place.
“Manchester has not forgotten Peterloo. Every year, leading local citizens place wreaths at the site of the tragedy and commemorate the day. I believe it is time the Conservative Party nationally, the heirs of the Tory Party of two hundred years ago, did the same.”
Mr Glinert, who is sending the letter to 10 Downing Street, told the M.E.N.: “The Conservatives have run the country more times than any other party since Peterloo but in Manchester, the second city, there is no Conservative presence. I am someone who believes in building bridges. This gives the Conservative Party the opportunity to make a long-awaited public statement and apology for the behaviour of their antecedents of 200 years ago.”
The memorial follows a 10-year campaign for Peterloo to be recognised in Manchester.