Residents urged join the Big Weekend and ignore EDL

A leading Cambridge City Councillor encourages residents to celebrate at the Big Weekend and turn their back on Saturday’s English Defence League march.

Rod Cantrill, Executive Councillor for Arts, Sport and Public Places has invited everyone from the community to join in with the family fun weekend and ignore the EDL.

“We have so much planned for the Big Weekend and I would urge everyone to go down to Parker’s Piece and join in,” he said. “It is this type of event that makes Cambridge a wonderful place in which to live. I would like to see everyone celebrating all that is good about our city together.”

Cllr Cantrill has joined MP Julian Huppert, Cambridge City Council Leader, Sian Reid, Mayor Ian Nimmo-Smith and Lib Dem city and county councillors in signing up to a statement which makes it clear that the EDL is not welcome this weekend.

They have been joined by others across the city keen to impress upon the EDL that they are proud of their city's "capacity peacefully to embrace people of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds and enable them to regard Cambridge as their home".

The Lib Dems have put their statement on their website at http://tinyurl.com/EDLStatement so that others can make their views clear and in just a week more than 100 people have signed.

Cllr Cantrill says: “This is a true indictment to what people really feel about the EDL coming into our city. I hope residents will ignore this planned march and come to the Big Weekend instead.

Liberal Democrats Urge City To Resist EDL Provocation During March

Cambridge residents are being urged to resist provocation by the English Defence League when supporters march through the city on July 9.

The plea comes from Cambridge Liberal Democrats who want to see business as usual to demonstrate the EDL’s irrelevance to the city.

MP Julian Huppert, Cambridge City Council Leader, Sian Reid, Mayor Ian Nimmo-Smith and Lib Dem city and county councillors have signed up to a statement which makes it clear that the EDL is not welcome.

They have been joined by others across the city keen to impress upon the EDL that they are proud of their city’s “capacity peacefully to embrace people of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds and enable them to regard Cambridge as their home”.

The Lib Dems have put their statement on their website at http://tinyurl.com/EDLStatement so that others can make their views clear.

Tim Bick, Cambridge City Executive Councillor for Community  Development said: “We know that a large number of people are keen to register their public opposition to the EDL’s unwelcome visit to Cambridge and what they stand for, but would prefer not to make the EDL feel more important by supporting rival demonstrations. This statement enables them to give them the cold shoulder without leaving their views and their beliefs in doubt.

“We have taken our lead on this from the Cambridge Muslim Council and opened it to the whole community.”

Cllr Reid said: ““There is no place in our city for anyone who does not share our view that diversity enriches our city. We are proud to welcome people from different nationalities and different faiths; we believe this is what makes Cambridge such a wonderful city in which to live.”