Sophia from Occupy Bristol met with Stephen Williams, Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West, today. He was kind enough to take the time to come and visit us during his tea-break in normal surgery hours in order to discuss our movement and the occupation.
We are pleased to report that he too hopes the Council does not move toward an enforced eviction from College Green and agree that this would be counter-productive as we seek to move forward. He recognises the peaceful and inclusive nature of our protest and has agreed to talk to the Council about granting us access to clean water and other sanitary issues.
He also expressed awareness of the way in which the government’s cuts are affecting people’s lives and the strength of public feeling around these issues. He has explicitly told the Prime Minister that it is unacceptable to condemn public disorder on the one hand and ignore bad behaviour by corporations on the other. Amen to that.
We are very grateful to Stephen for taking the time to meet with us and hope this is the beginning of a fruitful dialogue.
