Hundreds of local residents came together outside Milton Keynes’ Council offices on Saturday to demand that councillors pass a motion calling on their respective political parties to back an immediate ceasefire in Palestine, to stop further loss of civilian life.
Many Milton Keynes’ residents are across the city are feeling immense distress and horror at the killing of 13,000 of innocent civilians in Palestine, two thirds of these being women and young children.
The rally outside Mk Council took place after the two city MPs voted against calling for a ceasefire on Wednesday last week.
A recent poling showed 76% of the public supported an immediate ceasefire.
Thousands of people in MK have attended regular local, regional and national rallies since Israel’s latest invasion of Gaza began following the attack and kidnapping of Israeli hostages by Hamas on October 7th.
Local resident Kevin Vickers helped organise Saturday’s rally outside the Council and explained the group’s intentions:
“We are calling on all Milton Keynes’ councillors to pass a motion demanding that their respective political parties back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians are dying every day, not only from violence, but from lack of access to water, food and healthcare. As well as a ceasefire, humanitarian corridors must be opened for urgent aid and adequate provision of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian assistance, as well as the restoration of water and electricity to Gaza. People across Milton Keynes and around the world, including experts, agree that the devastation and loss of life is catastrophic and it must end.”
He continued: “We gathered at the Council offices, because as members of national political parties that either govern us, or aspire to govern us in Parliament they must represent the views of people in Milton Keynes. If our MPs won’t do it we need our councillors to stand up on this vital issue. If they stay silent on matters of life and death then how can we trust them to vote in our interests on other matters?”
The action in MK was one of more than a hundred vigils, rallies and demonstrations that took place across the UK on Saturday, happening in advance of the next national demonstration in London on Sat 25th November.
Comments