Background
On August 16th 1819 an infamous event took place on St. Peter's Field, Manchester, when the local yeomanry, along with a British cavalry regiment, attacked a large peaceful pro-democracy meeting, which had gathered to protest in favour of parliamentary reforms. An attempt was made to arrest "Orator Hunt", and then the yeomanry and the 15th King's Hussars waded into the crowd with sabres drawn. Fifteen people were murdered, and many hundreds injured. In the aftermath, it was dubbed the "Peterloo Massacre" in mocking reference to the Battle of Waterloo, four years earlier. The 200th anniversary occurs next year (2019).

Rationale:
Renaming the tram stop "Peterloo Square" would serve to commemorate permanently those who were killed or injured, and it would signal Mancunian pride in our history of radical politics and the labour movement (the protest was attended by textile workers, including many women - indeed, there is evidence that women were targeted deliberately during the massacre). This would put Peterloo literally on the map, and it would generate tourist traffic into Manchester city centre.
It would be a fitting way to make permanent our recognition of the event which gave rise to these words by Percy Shelley (in the Masque of Anarchy):

"Rise, like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth, like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you:
Ye are many—they are few!"

Started by: Nigel Woodcock

This ePetition ran from 13/11/2018 to 30/06/2019 and has now finished.

58 people signed this ePetition.