Mark Thomas - Don't Agonise, Organise!

It was great to have Mark Thomas here in Bradford this week. He received an honorary degree from the peace studies dept for his work on the campaign against the arms trade and for exposing the sickness at the heart of companies such as Coca Cola. He was in excellent form as he spoke to a packed audience of 200 students and lecturers prior to the ceremony. Tales of how he initially became involved in political issues during the miners strike while he studied in Wakefield, and early successes in pissing off the mighty in the dying days of the last Tory administration (like sending junk mail to Michael Heseltine in protest of the privatisation of the post office - a classic!)

The important thing was not to give up, to carry an issue forward as far as was possible - and to do it creatively. He reminded us all why direct action is so important - if we have a vote, it is because the Chartists fought for it - if women vote, it is because the suffragettes fought for it - if you can read or write, it is because people fought for it. Those with power do not give it up easily, it must be fought for.

I publicly thanked him for the inspiration he has been to the many in the audience who had been arrested partly inspired by his lead and courage and he recieved a huge round of applause. I loved the add for the event; Mark Thomas was wearing a T-Shirt that simply said - Don't Agonise, Organise!