UNIT 31 (Social Action) TASK 1

What is Social Action?

Social action is taking the steps to change the things that are wrong in our society and introduce new ideas and processes for doing things better in the future (Locality, Unknown). My interpretation of social action is individuals or organisations of which are working to change an idea or action globally or on a local basis. Many non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) work around the world to change actions made by other people or to promote alternative ideas to particular issues.

Stop HS2

One example of a non-governmental organisation of which is working to change plans made by the British government is the Stop HS2 campaign (Stop HS2, Continuous). This organisation campaigns across the length and breadth of Britain, discouraging the construction of a planned £42.6 billion high speed railway of which will connect London with Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds and Sheffield (Stop HS2, Continuous) and will allow significant reductions in travel times between outlying destinations and the capital (HS2.org, Unknown). The organisation has gathered a substantial amount of support from a wide range of backgrounds and from different parts of the political spectrum including a petition of which has amassed 108,000 signatures (Stop HS2, Unknown). The organisation has two main missions of which it has been working towards with a number of methods:

To Stop High Speed Two by persuading the Government to scrap the HS2 proposal.

To facilitate local and national campaigning against High Speed Two.

(Stop HS2, Unknown)

The organisations aim is to empower people and actively encourage members of the public to campaign against the construction of the high-speed railway based on environmental, financial and political problems of which the group have identified (Stop HS2, Continuous). The organisation often hosts various conferences, action group meetings, information stalls, parliament demonstrations, walks, quiz nights conventions and trans-European meetings with mainland European counterparts (Stop HS2, Unknown). The organisations also often make appearances in local and national news as well as make its own films based on the problems of which HS2 could create. Stop HS2 also actively works with similar campaigns against HS2 in the UK such as the Action Groups Against High Speed Two (AGAHST) as well as local action groups in areas of which would be affected by HS2(Stop HS2, Unknown). As well as campaigning on their website and out in public, the group also have a sizable following on social networking sites including 3,000

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followers on Twitter (Twitter, Continuous) and 5,000 Likes on Facebook (Facebook,Continuous). The groups YouTube account also has significant viewing figures as well as support from high profile celebrities including music producer Pete Waterman and important coverage on well known TV/Radio channels such as Channel 5’s ‘The Wright Stuff’, Channel 4 News, the BBC’s ‘Inside Out’, Sky News and Touch FM (YouTube, Continuous). Stop HS2 uses its website to show people the problems which HS2 could bring and also provides information on the HS2 route, its press releases and how to contact each individual group up and down the UK. The website also provides a page of which users can download materials such as leaflets, of which they can distribute at their will. The Stop HS2 website also provides the latest updates from the organisation including their latest achievements and what events are happening around the UK. The website also uses large pictures to emphasize the points they make as well as many screen shots from other websites showing varying statistics and graphics. The website also uses a three colour scheme consisting of black and white and also red. In most of the cases, the red colour is used to emphasize certain parts of the website and text. Red is also commonly used for a sign of danger or to describe something negative.

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Another organisation of which has been using social action on a global basis is the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. CND was founded in 1957 and has been working to ban the use and ownership of nuclear weapons around the world in order to secure a safe future for the next generations (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Unknown). The organisation claims to be Europe’s biggest single peace campaign group with over 30,000 members and over 100,000 members during its 1980’s peak (Wikipedia, Continuous).The organisation has a number of aims of which cover Britain’s nuclear presence in the world as well as international nuclear powers such as the US and also addresses nuclear power:

Elimination of British nuclear weapons and global abolition of nuclear weapons

o Cancellation of Trident by the British government. And policy not to replace or enhance Trident nor develop, purchase or deploy other nuclear weapons or allow the deployment of any foreign nuclear weapons on British soil or in British waters.

o Implementation of an arms conversion policy by the British government.

o Immediate negotiations leading swiftly to the rapid, timetabled abolition of nuclear forces worldwide and the conclusion of a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

o Prevention and cessation of wars in which the nuclear weapons of Britain or other countries might be used.

Abolition of other threats of mass destruction or indiscriminate effecto Full international compliance with agreed Chemical Weapons

Convention (CWC).

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o A strengthened Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) agreedo Global abandonment of space weapons and missile defence

programmes. An international agreement on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space.

o Implementation of a ban on the manufacture, testing and use of Depleted Uranium weapons.

Nuclear-free, less militarised and more secure Europeo No military nuclearisation of the European Union.o Withdrawal of all US military bases and nuclear weapons from Europe

and no nuclear or other expansion of NATO.o Formal Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones in Europe established.o Britain withdrawn from NATO and all foreign military bases on British

soil closed. The closure of the nuclear power industry

o Prevention of new build nuclear power stations and replacement of nuclear by universally acceptable sustainable energy technologies.

o Establishment of safe policies on nuclear waste storage and on re- use of contaminated land transport of plutonium and depleted uranium.

o Independent control and verification of plutonium, uranium and depleted uranium stocks.

(Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Unknown)

The CND is primarily a British aimed organisation and continues to work with other disarmament groups around the world in order to protest about the use and ownership of nuclear weapons/energy systems and also presents at United Nations disarmament conferences (Campaign for NuclearDisarmament, Unknown). The organisation primarily campaigns for nuclear disarmament by using various petitions, demonstrations, and events and through gaining support from local MP’s who can bring it up in parliament. The group also claim also to use non-volatile demonstrations such as ones of which have been occurring outside Britain’s Faslane submarine base (where Britain’s nuclear holding submarines are based) and RNAD

Coulport (where Britain’s nuclear missiles are stored) (Campaign for NuclearDisarmament , Unknown). There is even a permanent peace camp of which is continuously occupied of which is located close to the entrance of the Faslane submarine base of which is supported by the CND (Wikipedia, Continuous). Members of the public can get involved with the CND in many ways including donating money to the organisation to help fund activates and or become a member of the organisation and attend events whether that be in the UK or abroad. The organisation also encourages members to ask their MP to sign a petition regarding

Small protest outside the Faslane Sub Base

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the replacement of Trident missiles as well as encourage the education of children in disarmament and peace (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Unknown). The organisation also has a substantial presence on social media with over 11,000 followers on Twitter (Twitter, Continuous) and 37,000 likes on Facebook (Facebook,Continuous). The organisations website uses a two colour scheme consisting on white and green and is laid out similarly to other NGO and campaigning organisations. The organisations website uses top of the page tabs of which will take visitors to various information pages such as about the organisation, its aims and how members of the public can get involved. The website also features various information pages on US Military bases in the UK (of which CND want closing down), profiles on nuclear incidents such as Chernobyl and the World War 2 atomic bombs on Japan. The website is generally easy to navigate and uses a mixture of images and graphics to emphasize certain aspects of nuclear disarmament they support. The website is also highly embedded with content from the organisations Twitter and Facebook feeds as well as other social media like RSS. A dedicated events page also alerts members to events and contact details for each local group can be found (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament , Unknown).

How have these Organisations Helped?

Stop HS2 Outcomes

With the first phase of HS2 not due to go operational until 2026 at the earliest and Phase 2 to go operational in 2033, this is still very much a work in progress. Published on organisations website, a recent YouGov poll has shown that 53% of voters opposed HS2 and just 27% are in favour, and this has continued to rise (StopHS2, Continuous). There has however been a slight drop in those opposed to HS2 after September 2013, but those against still make up a majority. The organisation has been relatively successful in creating a large following both in the form of local groups in areas that may be affected and by other members of the public who have signed their petitions to get HS2 cancelled or has donated money. In 2011, the organisation took a petition to Downing Street of which collated 108,000 signatures (Stop HS2, Unknown) and has supported many other local groups in creating petitions of which has amassed to 2,000 petitions submitted to the House of Commons (Express & Star, 2014). No word has however been circulated on how effective any of these petitions have been but as HS2 has still not been formally cancelled, it suggests that more work is needed to be done by Stop HS2. The organisation has also been successful at gaining support from local level MP’s with the MP for Christchurch calling for a public referendum on HS2 with the support from six other MP’s (three of which have constituencies on the planned route) (Stop HS2, 2014). The organisation has also

HS2 Making Headlines(Stop HS2, 2014)

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reported that the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee are going to conduct and inquiry into the economic case of HS2 and the result of this is due out later this year (Stop HS2, 2014). Another success the organisation has managed to create is a significant amount of media interest, particularly with local newspapers, local radio and on TV. The organisation has frequently featured in many local newspapers and has also taken part in debates on both radio and on TV such as on BBC Breakfast (Rukin, 2011). Many of the arguments presented by HS2 have featured in local newspapers where HS2 is likely to affect such as the Manchester Evening News, Birmingham Post and the Sutton Coldfield Observer (Stop HS2, 2014) as well as make it to national newspapers such as the Daily Mail (Mail Online, 2012). Overall, the Stop HS2 campaign has not been successful at it aims just yet due to the early stages of development of which HS2 is currently at. With work not due to start until 2017 (HS2.org, Continuous), and with the amount of negative reaction the project is receiving from the public, press and also Politian’s, the organisation still has a strong chance of succeeding with its aims in the coming years.

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Outcomes

As with the HS2 campaign, this is still very much of a work in progress campaign of which may take many years before the aims of the organisation are met. Also similarly to the HS2 campaign, the organisation has successfully recruited a substantial following in the forms of members and followers on social media. As mentioned above, the organisation has engaged over 11,000 followers on Twitter (Twitter, Continuous ) and 37,000 likes on Facebook (Facebook, Continuous) as well as establish a 30,000 plus membership following (Wikipedia, Unknown). As well as the many public members and supporters of the campaign, the CND also have a following by MP’s particularly from the Labour party and Plaid Cymru in Wales. The organisation also has support from the Scottish National Party of which is also against Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Power. During the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum, the SNP vowed to remove Trident nuclear missiles and Vanguard class nuclear submarines from their base in Faslane base (and from Scottish soil) on the River Clyde and adopt a no nuclear weapons stance such as in Denmark and Norway in the event of a yes vote (Scottish National Party, Unknown). On the morning of the 19th September 2014, Scotland voted no to independence (BBC News, 2014) so it is unlikely that any missiles or submarines will be moved out of Scotland for the foreseeable future. Over the years the CND has been operating, the organisation has hosted many large-scale events to protest against nuclear weapons and power. One such event was the 1981 Greenham Common Women’s march, which saw women from the CND, and other individuals walk from Cardiff to the US Air Force Base (where cruise missiles were being based) in Berkshire and set up the groups first peace camp outside the base. This then quickly became the first big symbol of women’s resistance to the men orientated world of nuclear weapons and gained a high media and political profile. Although the press saw most of the activities negatively and physical abuse from forceful evictions was rife, thousands of people remained at the camp and continued to protest. The group held more rallies during the 1990’s due to the fear that Iraq might retaliate against coalition forces with nuclear weapons and in response to French nuclear bomb testing (Campaign for

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Nuclear Disarmament, Unknown). Although the group rallies have attracted a lot of support, there is however no evidence showing how effective they were and due to lack of changes, this has most likely not been 100% effective. Throughout the 50 years that the CND has been around, the group’s supporter numbers have fluctuated heavily based on historical events. Numbers swelled during events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960’s as well as the US deploying cruise missiles to Britain during the 1970’s and now as the Trident nuclear missile are due for replacement. Numbers of members and supporters have however declined during events such as the downfall of the Soviet Union, whereby everyone believes they are safe from a nuclear threat (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Unknown). Although now support for this campaign is growing, it will take an extremely long time before any of their aims are met. Due to the sensitivity of nuclear weapons and threats from un-cooperative countries such as Russia, China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) (and also outlying groups who would want to harness such weapons), governments will be reluctant to remove nuclear weapons fully. Many governments such as the UK’s would also see removing nuclear weapons as reducing its power in the world and the extreme costs and difficulty of removing such weapons would not be viable. The campaign aim of removing all nuclear power is also looking extremely unrealistic due to the fact that nuclear power is an important way of producing high energy density electricity, but with low carbon emissions and is a key carbon reduction method of meeting demands.

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Express & Star, 2014. 2,000 petitions against HS2 spark delay fears. [Online] Available at: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-news/2014/05/28/2000-petitions-against-hs2-spark-delay-fears/[Accessed 19 September 2014].Facebook, Continuous. Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/cnduk[Accessed 18 September 2014].Facebook, Continuous. Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/cnduk[Accessed 19 September 2014].Facebook, Continuous. Stop HS2. [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/STOP.HS2[Accessed 18 September 2014].HS2.org, Continuous. Key Dates. [Online] Available at: http://www.hs2.org.uk/about-hs2/key-dates[Accessed 19 September 2014].HS2.org, Unknown. What is HS2?. [Online] Available at: http://www.hs2.org.uk/about-hs2[Accessed 18 September 2014].Locality, Unknown. What is Social Action?. [Online] Available at: http://locality.org.uk/our-work/social-action/what-is/[Accessed 18 September 2014].Mail Online, 2012. Never mind ruining the countryside. HS2 will be the worst waste of public money for generations. [Online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2085400/High-speed-rail-link-HS2-worst-waste-public-money-generations.html[Accessed 19 September 2014].Rukin, J., 2011. Joe Ruken of Stop HS2 interviewed live on BBC News [Interview] (3 December 2011).Scottish National Party, Unknown. Climate Change. [Online] Available at: http://www.snp.org/vision/greener-scotland/climate-change[Accessed 19 September 2014].Stop HS2, 2014. Parliamentary Bill calls for public referendum on HS2, as Lords announce inquiry. [Online] Available at: http://stophs2.org/news/11312-parliamentary-bill-calls-public-referendum-hs2-lords-announce-inquiry[Accessed 19 September 2014].Stop HS2, 2014. Some recent news items. [Online] Available at: http://stophs2.org/news/11006-news-items-15 [Accessed 19 September 2014].Stop HS2, 2014. Some Recent News Items. [Online] Available at: http://stophs2.org/news/12118-some-recent-news-items-sept2014 [Accessed 19 September 2014].Stop HS2, Continuous. Home Page. [Online] Available at: http://stophs2.org/[Accessed 18 September 2014].

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