Following yesterdays (30th July 2015) decision to impose an injunction on anyone who uses a tent in the city of Manchester, I believe it's extremely important for the members of the public, parliament and the justice system to see exactly what's happening here in the area proposed to be the 'Northern Power House'... This is a huge infringement on our human rights. 

After several months of campaigning for the rights of homeless people in Manchester, I have seen the rapid increase of homeless people in the city and feel it's time to address this issue nationally in parliament. Homelessness has risen 150% here in Greater Manchester since Mr Cameron has been in power and the problems are increasing. Something needs to change. 

In January 2014 I setup 'Manchester Angels' outreach following various tragedies in the city... Wanting to create positive changes in the city of Manchester... Far too many people were being found dead for anyone to ignore it. 

I was initially interviewed by Key 103 reporter Michelle Livesey who was keen to hear of my plans for the Angels project. Her and another reporter from Capital FM came to see me and we had interviews which I've saved and they're available online here.

I was also contacted by Paul Blakey from C.N.I (Christian Nightlife Initiatives), They're faith based and were very keen on me registering the organisation with them. I didn't want the group to be faith based, I wanted it to be open to everyone. He seemed to want to affiliate himself with every night time street angel initiative in the U.K. and thinks he has a monopoly. They want the funding pots available after seeing that I'd had a huge response and I didn't like his approach. He didn't like the fact that I refused to work with him and has since wrote a rather derogatory article online about me which is illogical. The 'Manchester Angels' has achieved great things over the past year and we're proud of the progression we've made despite all of the people who doubted us. 

I was told by Inspector Phil Spurgeon of GMP not to address homelessness with my campaign and he wanted me to concentrate on helping night time revellers instead. People who spent money in the city. I told him politely that I was helping everyone in the city and he became rather rude and then proceeded to harass me for months via telephone; email and text message. Far too many males were going missing in Manchester for the police to ignore this and many questions arose regarding the bodies found in the canal and around the city. I was extremely weary of the polices incompetence in the city following this and kept probing Phil Spurgeon for some intervention to help the homeless of Manchester. He kept refusing. You can listen to the last time I spoke to him here.

A few months later I saw Michelle on YouTube with the newly setup group 'Manchester Street Angels'. How original? Using the same colours as me, they were trying to confuse people with a similar name. She'd liaised with Phil Spurgeon from GMP; Paul Blakely M.B.E from C.N.I. and others. I felt sick, this woman had actually tried to ruin my efforts and was attempting to steer people towards a group that was being orchestrated by the police and other organisations affiliated to the establishment that had created the social issues we face. She was parading herself on YouTube as the person who'd actually headed the campaign and it was hilarious to receive an email from her months later saying she no longer had any involvement after the group were posting some really immature unprofessional posts.

After having spent many times in my life falling into the cycle of the poverty; addiction; the judicial system; imprisonment; homelessness and then repeating it all again like the Groundhog Day Movie, I managed to better myself as a person following a spiritual awakening... The reason I understand and campaign is because I have been through it. I have been on the streets and I know how hard it is to get help. In 2015, it's even harder to get the help needed to survive. 

I'm now reverse engineering my life to try and inspire others to do the same... And also to inspire the general public to break the stigma attached to homelessness... And to teach others that the social issues surrounding homelessness are due to the oppressive councils and government which is enslaving us.

For many months now we've operated a 'Street Kitchen' in Piccadilly Gardens every Saturday night offering support and basic items to the homeless of Manchester... In the #‎OpSafeWinter food tent which so many kind altruistic types take the time to operate each Saturday from 4pm until 2am when all the support services are closed, handing out hot food, hot drinks, emergency blankets to prevent hypothermia, first aid, housing advice and much more. Our aim is to have 'safe points' around the city and sign post people to the various services on offer. We use holistic thinking and planning and treat people as individuals. More importantly, we LISTEN.

Manchester has the second highest amount of homeless people sleeping rough in the whole of the U.K. and the number of people homeless in Manchester is on the rise. During the political pre-election campaigns, we decided to use direct action to raise awareness of the problems here and I managed to get tickets for myself and a few friends inside the ITV live debates. Victoria Lily, a great woman from the city who's helped me with the 'Manchester Angels' campaigns took the opportunity after I was refused entry by GMP to heckle Mr Cameron and was interviewed outside. Quite rightly, she mentioned that a huge proportion of people living on the streets are ex-military, 1 in 9 to be precise. I was also interviewed by Channel 4 and explained many of the problems we face in society, not only in Manchester, but in the whole of the U.K. - You can see her here.

After that I was invited to 'Question Time' and 'BBC3 Free Speech' to air my views on homelessness and even managed to get assaulted by BBC reporter Peter Hunt live on TV when I told viewers not to vote for Labour who were no different than the Tories. Their shadow secretary for the D.W.P, Rachel Reeves was still proposing to continue with all of the cuts in the Welfare Reform apart from Bedroom Tax!

Here's me 'begging' Ed Miliband at 'Peoples Question Time' to look into the problems in Manchester... Watch from 27:00 where I'm straight after a girl called Sophie who mentions her problems with mental health issues. Where she actually feels GUILTY for what she's "put her parents through". This is sick, it's not HER fault!!! Click HERE to watch.

He's rather evasive and doesn't actually address my point either... There's no difference between the Tories and Labour. They're both groups of politicians facilitating banksters demands and it's about time that our country realised that. 

The general public need to understand that Manchester Council is predominantly Labour and they're making things worse here! We're living in a false sense of democracy. These two political parties are playing the 'blame game' when they're BOTH to blame. 

What they need to realise is... They work for US! The tax payer!

Around 80% of the people living on the streets have mental health issues and Manchester City Council and central government are making huge austerity cuts to the essential support services of both homelessness and mental health initiatives in Manchester. How are these people expect to progress in life if their support is taken away?

On the 15th April 2015, following the 'MarchForTheHomeless'... Homeless people, the Manchester Angels and many activists began camping in Albert Square, outside Manchester Town Hall, to protest against #homelessness in the city - following a national day of action.

On that day, we attempted to peacefully protest and enter Manchester Town Hall to sit down on the floor to raise awareness of the problem here. The police became 'heavy handed' and were assaulting people as they tried to enter the building. A small girl was pushed against the wall of the door way by one particular police officer and I proceeded to pull him away from her as he was squashing her. I was then strangled by another officer several times and this footage is clear for all to see on YouTube. At no point did I assault anyone, but I was arrested the following morning in a poor attempt to disassemble the protest camp with spurious charges of assault and possession of an offensive weapon (A pirate flag?). You can watch the entire protest here and see that I didn't assault anyone. 

I was isolated from the group and arrested by several officers who lied to the camp and said that they had arranged a meeting with the council to discuss plans for some intervention. Sarah Pickstone GMP can be seen on YouTube telling us that she'd arranged a meeting for 10am the following morning. This was a lie. 

The following morning, the Manchester Evening News ran a story where Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese branded protestors as "thugs" which we thought was rather ironic for a man who's actually been arrested for assaulting his step-daughter. You can find all this on Google or simply click here. There was a photo of me holding a pirate flag which in the article seems as if I'm holding it in front of me, this is clear propaganda and the still has been used to imply that I'm 'attacking' someone. When you watch the footage on YouTube, you can clearly see that I'm passing the flag backwards so that it's not going to hurt anyone. This is what the Manchester Evening News does, they try to demonise protestors. Only this month they ran an article about Kyle Wells' 'March For The Homeless' which tried to tarnish the good work he'd done for the cause. Kyle's disgusted at the newspaper and wants people to be aware that they're working with the council and police to facilitate an agenda, rather than project the truth to the people of Manchester. Luckily, we've had great press from the Guardian, Huffington Post, Salford Star, All FM and outside the ITV live debates! 

I will be in court next month for this and we have enough video footage to corroborate that I did not assault anyone at all. We were assaulted by Greater Manchester Police. Disabled people; old people and children even complained on the footage and no officers did anything. 

Following my arrest, the council moved quickly to evict the camp but on the morning of the planned eviction the group packed up and moved round the corner to St Peter's Square, outside Manchester Central Library. The group stated that they would keep moving the camp until the council listened to their concerns.

Two of the groups activists, Danny Jones and Adam Whelan, met with Bernard Priest, the Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, who said that the council were willing to consider radical change in the way that they deal with homelessness in the city but refused to meet with homeless people until the camp disbanded.

The council subsequently banned homeless people from using the library and staff at McDonalds in Manchester told customers Daniel Jackson and Charlotte Farrow it was now their policy not to serve homeless people. Members of the public donated food, clothing and tents to the protesters as the camp continued to grow.

A number of demos and protests were held in the square throughout May in solidarity with the camp, now calling themselves 'Homeless Rights of Justice Mcr'. The group vowed to continue protesting until the council agreed to meet with homeless people and discuss alternatives to their current policies on tackling homelessness in the city.

Manchester residents wrote an open letter to Manchester City Council asking them to cease legal action against the camp and engage with the group's demands. The Homeless Rights of Justice facebook page received thousands of likes and a number of articles regarding the protest appeared in the local and national press.

On the 19th May the group was evicted from St Peter's Square and they moved to St Ann's Square, where they remain - with an additional camp now situated nearby the Castlefield bowl. Donations of food, clothing and bedding continue to be made by residents of the city. The group then setup End Homelessness Mcr as an addition resistance organisation so that both camps could voice their campaigns.

Wesley Dove, representative from 'End Homelessness Mcr' met with Green Party leader Natalie Bennett to discuss the current state of affairs in Manchester. She said she felt a “sense of shame” about Britain’s level of homelessness after she visited the #HomelessCampMCR on 3 July 2015. She called on Manchester City Council to “work constructively” with the protesters, and said she would write to Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner to ask what measures are being taken to protect the camp.

Bennett also called for a referendum on the government’s plans for devolution in Greater Manchester, which she said was being “imposed without democratic consent”.

Bennett said:

“I left the camp having spoken to residents and campaign supporters with four strong messages.

“First, was a sense of shame, that Britain is leaving vulnerable, often ill, people in such desperate circumstance. It’s not only the people at the camp, I was hearing reports of the rising levels of homelessness right around the North West.

“Second, it was clear that the government’s benefit cuts, and particularly benefits sanctions, are having hugely damaging impacts. Some people, faced with the humiliation and uncertainty of regularly being told they’ve failed to fulfil criteria they can’t possibly meet, have chosen instead to simply abandon the system and live hand-to-mouth however they can. No one should be in this situation in the world’s sixth-richest economy.

“Then, there was concern about the choices and position of Manchester City Council. Like other councils around the country it has been put in great difficulty by the Westminster Government’s cuts, but I was told £2 million has been cut from the homelessness budget. That has to be a false economy, and the council should be looking to work constructively with the protest, to find a way to appropriately rehouse everyone who needs it.

“I also heard concerns about the quality of temporary housing that the council is providing; it is beholden on every council around the country to make sure private landlords making profits from such provision are providing quality facilities.

“Local businesspeople also feel abandoned by the Council, and expressed concern that it wasn’t dealing constructively with the issue.

“Finally, I heard concerns about the level of protection the camp was being given by police. In this city centre location, with a large night-time economy, there have clearly been issues, and it is important that the police are protecting protest camp residents. I will be writing to the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner asking him what measures are being taken to protect the camp, particularly in the late evening and early morning.”

She added:

“During my visit to Manchester, I also heard about the campaign for a referendum on the proposals for devolution in Greater Manchester, and the campaign to put this to the people in a referendum. There are clearly deep concerns about the proposal, and this would be the democratic way forward for the government. Imposing devolution on a region without democratic consent – or indeed previous consultation – is clearly a very strange kind of devolution that’s likely to have disastrous effects.”

After finally agreeing to meet with homeless people and activists, a representative of Manchester City Council admitted that 'things need to be different in virtually every way that I can currently see'. Councillor Daniel Gillard promised real change in the way that the council deals with homelessness in Manchester.

Meetings with Manchester City Council continued throughout June and July, with the council promising to listen to the views of homeless people when redesigning their policies. The council also advised that they were investigating the 'Housing First' model which has proved highly successful in addressing the issue of chronic homelessness in America and is currently being trialled by some authorities in the UK.

At the meetings homeless people and activists voiced concerns that the current provision for homeless people in Manchester is inadequate – with a number of the group describing the poor treatment they had experienced in hostels and hotel accommodation. Concerns were also raised regarding the standard of supported accommodation in the city and the lack of mental health care available to treat conditions - such as addiction, anxiety, and depression - experienced by people living on the streets.

Following three meetings with the council they confirmed that the budget for dealing with homelessness in the city has been reduced to £530K (from £1.2m), despite the dramatic rise in the number of people sleeping rough, and cancelled any further meetings with the group. Refusing to comment on why the meetings had been cancelled and who had actually cancelled the meetings. 

Alternatives to deal with the housing crisis, have been ignored - whilst the council continues to fund hostels, day centres and hotel accommodation to provide expensive emergency provision. Court fees and costs to police the protest currently total over £100k.

Manchester City Council succeeded yesterday to ban anyone from erecting a temporary shelter within Manchester city centre. A move, which will see homeless people fined or imprisoned for as little as using a sleeping bag on the streets... This could also see 'street kitchens' being criminalised also. An essential service which the 'Manchester Angels' operate each week. This is a serious threat to both democracy and justice. People can now be imprisoned for up to 2 years or handed fines up to £5000. 

This is a clear case of those in power targeting the most vulnerable in society. There's people dying of hypothermia and if anyone tries to shield themselves from the wind, they'll now face prison! It's ludicrous. 

The group's solicitor, Ben Taylor, has advised that the defendants are now probably going to have to represent themselves at court if they wish to appeal as their application for legal aid has been been denied and a review is unlikely to be concluded before the hearing. We're looking for any legal representatives who'd be willing to help us on a pro-bono basis. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and you can contact me direct via wesleyphiliphall@gmail.com or 07722525101. 

Manchester City Council's current budget reserve stands at £339m, with over £25m in the general fund reserve - a pot of money not set aside for any particular purpose. We are calling on Manchester City Council to use £700k from their reserves to make up the shortfall in this years budget and fund real solutions to the problem of homelessness in Manchester.

What everyone needs to know is this... Manchester's being proposed for devolution and the crime commissioner with be the unelected mayor of Manchester.

Homeless people are now seen as revenue for privatised prisons such as HM Prison Forest Bank which is run by Sodexo (Originally a French catering company). Why would the council want to offer housing and intervention which COSTS money when they can MAKE money sending them to prison? The cities magistrates courts and crown courts facilitate this facade. People are being sent to prisons based on current prison population figures. Corporates like Sodexo, G4S, Serco etc lobby central government for new legislation to criminalise more people. 

The REAL agenda here is T.T.I.P. - It's scary and you should all research it here.

Because these corporate prisons will sue councils if they don't get a sufficient amount of prisoners through their doors. Meaning that more homeless people will be criminalised and imprisoned to create a national inhumane slave trade in which people are made to work 40 hours a week for £12.50, simply for being homeless.

We NEED you to sign this petition and share it so that we can stop these people taking away our liberties. 

The whole nation needs to know about this. 

Going to prison for using a tent? 

Or even protesting for the rights of other human beings?

This country needs to seriously wake up and realise that are liberties are being taken from us.

Mr Cameron, Judge Ranj Matharu, Richard Leese, Daniel Gillard, The Whole Of Manchester Council, The People Of Manchester And The Whole Of The U.K.

PLEASE, we're 'begging' you, have a heart. Revoke this inhumane evil decision to criminalise the most vulnerable people in our society and let's work towards some humanity...

PLEASE?

Kind Regards

Wesley P P Hall