'Grannies for the Future' banned from tonight's Dorset Council meeting
It's after they glued themselves to a desk at County Hall in Dorchester in a protest over climate change
Security will be tight for tonight's Dorset Council meeting at County Hall, Dorchester.
The two “Grannies for the future” who protested at April’s meeting have been told that they will not be allowed into the meeting under any circumstances.
They have been labelled “anarchists” by council leader Spencer Flower.
Security locks have now been fitted to the council chamber doors and councillors have been issued guidelines to follow should there be any disturbances.
They have also been advised to be careful about how they engage with climate protestors who are expected to gather outside from 6pm.
Some described the last meeting as an “affront to democracy” after councillors, who had been moved out of the chamber as the protest started, were then not allowed to debate a climate motion – but were told to go straight to the vote.
The climate activists claimed they were jostled and pushed by Conservative councillors, with one tearing a prepare speech from the hands of one of the protestors as they tried to glue themselves to a desk.
A briefing note issued by Dorset Council chief executive Matt Prosser lays out the procedure which ought to be followed if a disturbance occurs.
It says that in the first instance the protestor should be warned and if the disturbance continues may be removed from the room by security staff.
In the event of a wider disturbance the guidance suggests adjourning the meeting for as long as necessary, bringing the business to a close or reconvening to a different room.
“A decision whether to call the police will be made by the senior officer in attendance in consultation with the Chairman,” said Mr Prosser.
“In the event of a disturbance described above, as soon as the chairman adjourns the meeting, members should leave the room immediately, and should not engage, physically or verbally, with people causing a disturbance. If the meeting is at County Hall, Dorchester members should relocate to the members’ room using the doors to the rear of the chamber (not those that lead to main reception). It is important that everyone goes to the same location so that it is possible to provide information about the reconvening of the meeting which is not possible if members have moved to different areas of the building.”
The memo to councillors says that access card-controlled locks have now been fitted to the council chamber doors with councillors and officers using their ID badges to swipe for access.
One of the “Grannies for the future”, Giovanna Lewis, said that she and fellow protestor Annie Webster were contacted by senior council legal officer Jonathan Mair to be told that security staff had been instructed to exclude them from the meeting should they try to attend.
Ms Lewis says the pair remain concerned about Dorset Council voting to make it easier for developers applying for fossil fuel sites in Dorset: “Any councillor voting for the expansion of fossil fuels at this time is complicit in accelerating climate change and such actions are now being called ‘murderous’.
“The UN is calling it madness and so are other bodies. Such a vote is surely only borne from a place of not understanding fully the very serious consequences of accelerating climate change. Thus, those Dorset councillors are not looking after the safety and wellbeing of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.”