Letter: The High Street Should Have Been Closed for the Easter Procession

Published on: 11 Apr, 2023
Updated on: 11 Apr, 2023

Walk of Witness, Good Friday 2023

From: Charlie Hoskin

In response to: Hundreds Join Christian Walk of Witness on Good Friday in Town Centre

The High Street should have been closed for the procession to allow everyone to use it fully. The failure to do so was a disgrace and I believe it to be politically motivated.

They allow demonstrations like Black Lives Matter and other demos, quite rightly, to utilise the High Street fully, why not the Easter procession?

This is still a Christian country but the decision-making which happens time and time again is made by the minority liberal thinking woke group which denigrates this fine country.

Responses to Letter: The High Street Should Have Been Closed for the Easter Procession

John Lomas Reply

April 11, 2023 at 5:42 pm

“On census day, 21 March 2021, 46.2 per cent of people identified themselves as Christians.”

Also, for many years people without any religious conviction have answered “CofE” when asked “What religion?”.

This tends to show that many of them know very little about religion as those with any faith or knowledge are aware that CofE is not a religion but is a denomination of a religion.
George Potter Reply

April 11, 2023 at 8:17 pm

The High Street can be made available for anyone who wants to process or demonstrate. They just need to apply for it in the same way that any other group would.

Given we still have Anglican bishops making our laws in the House of Lords, I think it must take a tremendous chip on one’s shoulder to think that there is some sort of institutional political bias against Christianity.

George Potter is a Lib Dem candidate for Burpham in the forthcoming GBC election.
Andrew Eacott Reply

April 12, 2023 at 6:21 am

I remember seeing this walk on many an Easter weekend and I don’t remember the High Street ever being closed before. I also remember seeing BLM protests on the High Street without it being closed for them either. What exactly is Charlie Hoskins’ concern?
Mark Stamp Reply

April 15, 2023 at 12:54 pm

Is there any evidence for the assertion of political motivation?

I don’t believe the High Street has been closed for any event since the pandemic when the council commissioned a health and safety review of events in the High Street. A far more rational explanation would be a combination of this and the cost of hiring (or paying overtime) staff and for barriers etc. to enforce the closure for the period as the walk was passing.

What impact did the High Street not being closed have on the event? From the photos, there is a pretty tightly packed group of people which most people trying to use the High Street would have moved aside for and I can actually see that in some photos.
Terence Jenkin Reply

April 24, 2023 at 5:42 pm

Regardless of other issues, the High Street should be closed to traffic save for restricted hours access for good, so that just one small area of Guildford is not permanently a traffic-blighted, stinking, polluted, gridlocked dump, utterly dominated by the motorcar.