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Orange Lodge had parade again in
Southport
THE Orange Lodge had again held its controversial annual
parade in Southport, on 11 July 2015. The event attracted over 3,000 people who
marched through the Town. The event has been held as part of the Liverpool and
area Lodges' celebrations every July either on or close to 12 July,
commemorating the 1690 victory at the Battle of the Boyne, of King William of
Orange. As a result this event is politically controversial, but it has also
been in the past connected with violence and drunken behaviour. Thus, as a
result many local businesses say it should not take place as it puts people off
visiting the town, a feeling many residents often express. But some businesses
have embraced this event that can and does bring in thousands of pounds into the
local bars and nightclubs. Last year, the event was praised by police for not
having any arrests, but sadly this year a very small minority caused problems,
leading to 3 arrests. Also, an investigation was launched into a reported fight
on a train leaving Southport station on Saturday, which could have been linked
to the Orange Lodge event, according to the British Transport Police. Overall,
the events during the day passed mostly 'without incident'. As for disruption,
the marches did cause travel chaos, but as the Lodge pointed out, 1 of the major
reasons was a direct result in lack of help by the Police, with the road
closures. We have been told that this is a national policy, which sees Police no
longer involved in facilitating the temporary closure of roads along the agreed
parade and carnival routes. This also affects demonstrations and even military
events! The idea we are told, of this decision, is to free up Officers to do
other duties, and due to more restrictive, interpretations of traffic laws,
private Traffic Management teams can do the job just as well. This has already
affected the St George's Day Parades, Veteran Marches and many more events.
However, there is traffic chaos as a result, so it does call this idea into
question. We have video footage, online, at the end of our photographic report
of the parades going and leaving. To see our photo report, please click on
here
now... If you have any thoughts or views about this event, please email us to:-
news24@southportreporter.com and let us know what they are!
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