Peter Tatchell says Pride is being singled out by ‘huge charges’ from Westminster City Council
He argues that other marches were not forced to pay money to parade through London
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
LGBTQ activist Peter Tatchell says Pride is being ‘singled out’ after Westminster City Council ‘slaps huge charges’ on Pride in London.
While appearing on the Victoria Derbyshire Show this morning (July 4), the human rights activist and other guests discussed whether Pride is becoming too ‘commercialised’.
And Tatchell argued that Westminster City Council is singling out Pride and ‘crushing Pride financially’.
He said: “The city authorities impose an artificial limit of 30,000 people in the parade. So last year, 50,000 people wanted to march and 20,000 were turned away. That’s completely against the spirit of Pride.
“In the 1990s, over 100,000 people marched but nowadays, the city has imposed these draconian limits plus they slap Pride with huge charges.
“So Westminster City Council demands money for road closures, barriers, suspension parking bays…
“Westminster City Council has not imposed these financial charges on the anti-Brexit march, or the march to defend the NHS, Pride is being singled out and that is why Pride is being forced, to some extent, to go to the corporates because the city authorities are punishing them financially.
“And I would say, exploiting them financially and I think Westminster City Council really has a serious question to answer. They brand themselves as LGBT friendly yet they are crushing Pride financially.”
Westminster City Council “slaps huge charges” on Pride, says @PeterTatchell, and is imposing “draconian limits” on the numbers that can march
“It does not impose the charges on the anti-Brexit march, Pride is being singled out”https://t.co/pJdHoJLnmY #VictoriaLIVE pic.twitter.com/41OwxfYQFF
— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) July 4, 2019