Pride in London

By New Worker correspondent

Over a million people gathered to watch this year’s London Pride parade last weekend. Stars of Absolutely Fabulous, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, snipped the ribbon in character to start the 40,000 strong march across central London from Portland Place to Trafalgar Square on Saturday.

 Pride In London is the capital’s annual LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning) celebration and this year’s was the biggest in its history. It  officially started when some 2,000 members of what was then known simply as the “gay community” held a Gay Pride Rally in London in 1972. In 1983 the march was renamed "Lesbian and Gay Pride" and it has now become the major LGBTQ of the year in London.

No Pride in War!

 by New Worker correspondent

Last Saturday some marked “Armed Forces Day” with parades and displays glorifying the armed wing of British imperialism. Others, like Veterans for Peace, celebrated the day in their own way in London last weekend

. The veterans’ peace  movement held a counter-recruitment presence outside Charing Cross station Saturday morning before heading off to join other groups under the banner "No Pride in War" to protest the presence of the Red Arrows and BAe Systems at this year’s Pride in London parade.Veterans for Peace UK was set up in 2011 by a former member of the Special Air Service who was discharged after refusing to continuing serving in Iraq. The movement for veterans of the armed forces is committed to opposing all wars through non-violent means.