On 26 November, CND and Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists gathered in York as part of a global day of action to call for an end to nuclear weapons and to bring attention to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The event took place at the start of the second Meeting of States Parties (MSPs), a gathering of countries who have ratified the TPNW, happening 27 November – 1 December, in the Trusteeship Council at UN headquarters in New York, USA.
The York event began with an art exhibit at SPARK, including a talk by Leeds CND badge maker Alasdair Beal. At the height of their popularity, Alasdair’s designs were selling in their thousands. These include ‘Cat Lovers Against the Bomb’ and ‘Special Branches Against the Bomb’. One design recently had a revival through a popular crowdfunder that helped to print 60,000 beer mats for pubs.
Activists then went to York Minster and The Shambles to raise public consciousness of the TPNW. This included a performance by recent Leeds Conservatoire graduates Teruki Chan (photo, left, by @cw_photo.graphy / Chris Williams) and Harvey Parkin-Christie.
Yorkshire CND was glad to see the support from so much of the public and hope that this will help to gather momentum to encourage York council to pass a motion supporting the TPNW.