I am so fed up with all this hype about the Royal wedding – as if I care that two rich ‘state spongers’ are going to get hitched. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t ant anti-marriage rant, I am all in favour of it and would love to see the law extended to include the lesbian and gay community. But is it really necessary to have a William and “what’s her name” mug, or tea plate? Everywhere I go I am accosted by reminders that later this month the happy couple will be wed. Of course they are happy – look at the income they have going into the house.
He has his salary of £37,170 from the RAF and on top of that, he also receives an income established on the death of his mother and he also has further money coming in from his father’s Duchy income. All in all, he’s not short of a bob or two and a far cry from the £22,000 salary Daddy was paying Kate Middleton before she quit the family firm last month. So, news that a peace camp in Parliament Square cannot legally be moved and will probably remain throughout this elitist spree made my spirits soar this morning. Apparently, the prime minister, the home secretary and the mayor of London have all vowed the ramshackle tented peace encampment yards from Westminster Abbey in Parliament Square will not become a backdrop to the perfect royal wedding tableau in on 29 April. Unfortunately for Citizen Dave, the people’s toff, despite numerous legal attempts, no one – from No 10 down – has been able to come up with any legal power to move campaigners from the pavement between the Houses of Parliament and the abbey, where Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry. Much to my glee, Tory politicians are venting their fury at Scotland Yard, piling the pressure on senior officers to do something. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is understood to have made it clear in private to the Metropolitan police that he does not want anything – not a tin of paint, a placard or a tent flap – to spoil the wedding day. Of course not, Boris is facing re-election and the last thing he wants is some nasty, scruffy left-winger spoiling his roadshow. David Cameron told the Commons he could not understand why demonstrators were being allowed to sleep in the square. Ummm – bit of news for you Dave, we live in a democracy and peaceful protest is a legitimate tactic the common people (you know, those oiks you keep trying to put down) employ when they are opposed to something parliamentarians (with their £65,000+ salaries) do. It seems Dave stressed at prime minister's question time he wanted the peace camp removed before the wedding. Dream on Dave – can’t go and won’t go. So desperate are this bunch of right-wing hoodlums that they are even prepared to rewrite the law to suit their own ends. The home secretary, Theresa May, has created an amendment to the police reform and social responsibility bill, which outlaws the erection in Parliament Square of "any tent, or any other structure that is designed, or adapted... for the purpose of facilitating sleeping or staying in". The legislation is about to enter its second reading in the House of Lords and will not be law in time for the big day. I suppose Citizen Dave follows the same mentality as Queen Victoria, who is reputed to said “Take it away lest it offend my eye”.
As an aside, why does Theresa May always dress in the same sort of clothes as Princess Leiea from Star Wars – is this a secret Hollywood fetish we are uncovering here? Anyway, I digress - at Scotland Yard, there have been high-level meetings to scour legislation and identify a clause that would give police the power to act. Given the level of political pressure, there have been conversations about the possibility of using emergency powers but, after a meeting at the Yard this week, it was concluded that there was nothing the Met could do. A senior police source told the press: "They are putting us under huge pressure, but … They made the laws and to date there doesn't seem to be one we can act on. If there was we would have done it by now." Hopes had been resting on attempts by the Greater London Authority and Westminster council to remove the inhabitants of the camp, their 14 tents, placards, montage pictures of war victims and two home-made police boxes, by taking action through the courts. But most protesters have permission to stay on the Parliament Square pavement under a clause in the Serious and Organised Crime Act 2005.
There is a small chance the GLA – which is responsible for the grass on Parliament Square – might be able to move two tents pitched on a patch of lawn at the edge of the square next week if an appeal by peace campaigners Brian Haw and Barbara Tucker fails in the high court. However, all Haw and Tucker need do is move their tents three feet on to the pavement. Westminster council – which is responsible for the pavement – has more chance of success by arguing in the high court that the peace encampment is an obstruction under the Highways Act. You might remember Westminster council. They are the same body that made providing hot food from a soup kitchen for those who are forced to sleep rough illegal. Meanwhile, some inhabitants of the camp – which was first settled 10 years ago when veteran peacenik Brian Haw pitched his tent on the grass of Parliament Square – are making what they see as a generous gesture in a spirit of compromise. One protester, Maria Gallastegui, has written to Buckingham Palace offering to cover up her placards for the day. Much to her surprise, she received a reply – delivered to her police box. One of the toffee nosed elite employed as emissaries for the Prince of Wales wrote how the Royals "appreciated" her offer and "careful note has been taken on the points you make". For their part, Citizen Dave, Theresa “Princess Leiea” May and “Biffer” Johnson seem unlikely to accept the olive branch. Let us all hope their efforts fail and the camp will somehow find its way into the Royal wedding album.
He has his salary of £37,170 from the RAF and on top of that, he also receives an income established on the death of his mother and he also has further money coming in from his father’s Duchy income. All in all, he’s not short of a bob or two and a far cry from the £22,000 salary Daddy was paying Kate Middleton before she quit the family firm last month. So, news that a peace camp in Parliament Square cannot legally be moved and will probably remain throughout this elitist spree made my spirits soar this morning. Apparently, the prime minister, the home secretary and the mayor of London have all vowed the ramshackle tented peace encampment yards from Westminster Abbey in Parliament Square will not become a backdrop to the perfect royal wedding tableau in on 29 April. Unfortunately for Citizen Dave, the people’s toff, despite numerous legal attempts, no one – from No 10 down – has been able to come up with any legal power to move campaigners from the pavement between the Houses of Parliament and the abbey, where Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry. Much to my glee, Tory politicians are venting their fury at Scotland Yard, piling the pressure on senior officers to do something. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is understood to have made it clear in private to the Metropolitan police that he does not want anything – not a tin of paint, a placard or a tent flap – to spoil the wedding day. Of course not, Boris is facing re-election and the last thing he wants is some nasty, scruffy left-winger spoiling his roadshow. David Cameron told the Commons he could not understand why demonstrators were being allowed to sleep in the square. Ummm – bit of news for you Dave, we live in a democracy and peaceful protest is a legitimate tactic the common people (you know, those oiks you keep trying to put down) employ when they are opposed to something parliamentarians (with their £65,000+ salaries) do. It seems Dave stressed at prime minister's question time he wanted the peace camp removed before the wedding. Dream on Dave – can’t go and won’t go. So desperate are this bunch of right-wing hoodlums that they are even prepared to rewrite the law to suit their own ends. The home secretary, Theresa May, has created an amendment to the police reform and social responsibility bill, which outlaws the erection in Parliament Square of "any tent, or any other structure that is designed, or adapted... for the purpose of facilitating sleeping or staying in". The legislation is about to enter its second reading in the House of Lords and will not be law in time for the big day. I suppose Citizen Dave follows the same mentality as Queen Victoria, who is reputed to said “Take it away lest it offend my eye”. 
As an aside, why does Theresa May always dress in the same sort of clothes as Princess Leiea from Star Wars – is this a secret Hollywood fetish we are uncovering here? Anyway, I digress - at Scotland Yard, there have been high-level meetings to scour legislation and identify a clause that would give police the power to act. Given the level of political pressure, there have been conversations about the possibility of using emergency powers but, after a meeting at the Yard this week, it was concluded that there was nothing the Met could do. A senior police source told the press: "They are putting us under huge pressure, but … They made the laws and to date there doesn't seem to be one we can act on. If there was we would have done it by now." Hopes had been resting on attempts by the Greater London Authority and Westminster council to remove the inhabitants of the camp, their 14 tents, placards, montage pictures of war victims and two home-made police boxes, by taking action through the courts. But most protesters have permission to stay on the Parliament Square pavement under a clause in the Serious and Organised Crime Act 2005.
There is a small chance the GLA – which is responsible for the grass on Parliament Square – might be able to move two tents pitched on a patch of lawn at the edge of the square next week if an appeal by peace campaigners Brian Haw and Barbara Tucker fails in the high court. However, all Haw and Tucker need do is move their tents three feet on to the pavement. Westminster council – which is responsible for the pavement – has more chance of success by arguing in the high court that the peace encampment is an obstruction under the Highways Act. You might remember Westminster council. They are the same body that made providing hot food from a soup kitchen for those who are forced to sleep rough illegal. Meanwhile, some inhabitants of the camp – which was first settled 10 years ago when veteran peacenik Brian Haw pitched his tent on the grass of Parliament Square – are making what they see as a generous gesture in a spirit of compromise. One protester, Maria Gallastegui, has written to Buckingham Palace offering to cover up her placards for the day. Much to her surprise, she received a reply – delivered to her police box. One of the toffee nosed elite employed as emissaries for the Prince of Wales wrote how the Royals "appreciated" her offer and "careful note has been taken on the points you make". For their part, Citizen Dave, Theresa “Princess Leiea” May and “Biffer” Johnson seem unlikely to accept the olive branch. Let us all hope their efforts fail and the camp will somehow find its way into the Royal wedding album.
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