It has come to our attention as Occupiers and members of the Multifaith and Belief Working Group of Occupy London (Occupy Faith UK), that William Campbell-Tayor a close collaborator on campaigns in the City of London with Blue Labour founder Maurice Glasman (both individuals from outside Occupy), has set up and Chairs the City Reform Group, which has recruited a number of Occupiers to stand as candidates in the ward elections of the City of London Corporation. The media has reported Taylor’s City Reform Group as an “Alliance of Labour, UKIP and Occupy”.
We are not aware that any General Assembly of Occupy London has at any point had consensus or given consent for the name of Occupy London to be linked in any way whatsoever to any single individual or group associated with this political election. On the contrary, the consensus is very much against this.
William Campbell-Taylor previously published this article in the Guardian newspaper on 19 July 2012 advocating for and sponsoring the candidature of Bryn Phillips in the Farringdon Ward by-election in July of this year, Taylor clearly stating in it in his own words that, “Citizen Phillips should be encouraged to contest this byelection”, and likewise the article on Phillips’ violent criminal history published in the Guido Fawkes Blog on 19 July 2012 describes him as “former Occupy St Paul’s spokesman and close ally of Maurice Glasman”. We now refer to Bryn Phillips’ published statement in the Guardian newspaper on 26 July 2012, as “a spokesman for protestors who occupied St Paul’s cathedral last year…” in which he states in his own words, “There will be full elections on 13 February next year and Occupy will be fielding a full slate of candidates at that point…”
The previous history with Occupy of Glasman and his Blue Labour colleagues is a disturbing one, and has been investigated by a number of experienced scholars of Blue Labour such as Dr Ed Rooksby, Lisa Ansell and Dr Alex Andrews, who have published articles and academic papers on it. In particular, we refer to Lisa Ansell’s published article in the New Internationalist on 7 November 2011 in which she states, “Late last month activists occupying the grounds outside St Paul’s cathedral read that Maurice Glasman approved of their decision to focus criticism on the ‘City of London Corporation’, on the Guardian website. This came as a surprise to many. First off, the camp had made no such decision. Secondly, this leak to the press contradicted every principle on which the occupation is based…Glasmans’ ability to respond so quickly and eloquently to a document being passed around for signatures at midnight before publication raised suspicion in the Occupy camp. It transpired that Glasman had visited the camp a week before, and subsequently followed up contact with an activist he met there. John Milbank writes that Glasman was endeavouring to persuade the occupiers to focus on the City of London. Following Glasman’s interest in this particular issue, the occupiers reported a change in the decision-making process around the Corporation of London debate. Unlike the carefully inclusive discussion which would usually characterise debates here, occupiers felt that night’s discussion had been ‘railroaded’. Many of those in working groups and general assemblies had been ‘reassured’ that the document about the Corporation of London had been approved by journalists and ‘credible people’ outside the camp.” For his part, William Campbell-Taylor has actively approached a number of Occupiers who now express views about his truthfulness and trustworthiness, and which you can listen to in these Occupier Comments on Maurice Glasman and William Campbell-Taylor.
Occupy London must now act firmly in relation to deceitful, dishonest behaviour and co-opting. The ethical vision of the Multifaith and Belief Working Group (Occupy Faith) is to challenge the hypocrisy of those who claim to speak in the name of religious faith or as clergy, but in fact co-opt or are co-opted by power or personal ambition, and to call them to repentance, truth-speaking and justice for the weakest in society.
Alan Bolwell
Steven Burak
Sara Callaway
Thom Bonneville
Sean Leigh
on behalf of the Multifaith and Belief Working Group of Occupy London (Occupy Faith UK)
Tuesday 25 September 2012
CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO LISTEN TO COMMENTS BY MEMBERS OF OCCUPY LONDON ON THE CITY OF LONDON WARD ELECTIONS, WILLIAM CAMPBELL-TAYLOR (WILLIAM TAYLOR) AND MAURICE GLASMAN
occupiers_comments_on_maurice_glasman_and_william_campbell-taylor
All points made in the statement are fully referenced and evidenced and true – please contact us if you have any queries:
Matthew Taylor, Occupy Activist Stands in City of London Byelection, The Guardian, 26 July 2012
William Campbell-Taylor, City of London Corporation: You Don’t Have to be in the Club to Get Involved, The Guardian, 19 July 2012
Violent Rioter “Voids” Square Mile Election Attempt, Guido Fawkes, 19 July 2012
Maurice Glasman, How the St Paul’s Protesters Seek to Democratise London, The Guardian, 28 October 2012
Lisa Ansell, The Occupation will not be Astroturfed, New Internationalist Blog, 7 November 2011
Ed Rooksby, Don’t Underestimate Toxic Blue Labour, The Guardian, 21 May 2011
Lisa Ansell, Blue Labour – the Big Idea to Get Elected, The Guardian, 25 March 2011
Ben Quinn, Alliance of Labour, UKIP and Occupy members attempt to reform City of London, The Guardian, 11 March 2013
Cally Squires, Drama Behind the Scenes in City Election, City AM, 4 April 2013
UPDATE: SHORTLY AFTER THIS STATEMENT WAS ISSUED BY OCCUPY FAITH UK, OUR COLLEAGUES STARTED RECEIVING THREATENING PHONE CALLS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS FROM WILLIAM CAMPBELL-TAYLOR’S ASSISTANT, THE VIOLENT CONVICTED CRIMINAL, BRYN PHILLIPS – IN WHICH PHILLIPS USED PRIVATE CONTACT DETAILS AND PERSONAL DATA ON OUR COLLEAGUES WHICH WAS KNOWN ONLY TO WILLIAM CAMPBELL-TAYLOR AND WHICH WERE SUPPLIED TO HIM BY CAMPBELL-TAYLOR. SOME OF BRYN PHILLIPS’S THREATENING CALLS WERE RECORDED AND PASSED ON TO THE POLICE, AND A POLICE WARNING WAS DULY ISSUED TO HIM.
WILLIAM CAMPBELL-TAYLOR (WILLIAM TAYLOR OF “THE UK GOLD”) CAUGHT LYING IN CITY OF LONDON ELECTION (PORTSOKEN WARD)