I have recently moved to Preston in Lancashire. I’ve never lived further north than London before, so it’s a big change for me, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the city, its people (suffragette Edith Rigby was a particularly cool Prestonian), and the University of Central Lancashire. I think protest stickers are a really good way to get to know a place, because it gives you an indication of the issues that matter to local and visiting activists. The number of protest stickers you find also gives you an idea of how radical a city is. Considering Preston’s size, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of protest stickers I have found.
Like many larger towns and cities, Preston has an anti-fascist group. The lamb has been a symbol of Preston for several hundred years (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Stoneygate, 14/06/18).
It is also common to find stickers produced by anti-fascist groups from elsewhere, such as this sticker from Manchester (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Friargate, 23/02/18).
Due to it’s proximity to Liverpool, feelings about the Hillsborough disaster and the Sun newspaper’s coverage of it are quite strong in Preston (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Fishergate, 28/05/18).
Preston is home to the University of Central Lancashire, and as such has a significant student population. Lots of students means lots of student politics (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Hope Street, 02/03/18).
Another contentious issue which has particular resonance locally is fracking. There a quite a few possible sites for fracking in Lancashire, and some people are not happy about it. Frack Free Lancashire is a local campaign group, but as far as I’m aware they have not produced any protest stickers–yet (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Strand Road, 24/02/18).
Not everyone in Preston is opposed to fracking, however; some think that the economic benefits outweigh the environmental risks. This is the first pro-fracking protest sticker I have ever found. The red rose of Lancashire is another powerful local symbol (Photo: Hannah Awcock, B6241, 26/05/2018).
Along with anti-fascism and anarchism, animal rights is one of the most common topic of protest stickers, and Preston is no exception. I’d never heard of Stop Live Transport before, but their goal is fairly self-explanatory (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Foster Building, UCLan, 15/05/28).
This sticker is very simple, but I think it is quite effective in getting it’s message across. Opponents of the dairy industry criticise it’s treatment of cows (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Water Lane, 24/05/18).
Because of the similar style and message, and the fact that I found them close together, I think this sticker was produced by the same person/people as the previous one (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Watery Lane, 24/05/18).
The Hunt Saboteurs Association has been campaigning against hunting since 1963 (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Flyde Road, 02/05/18).
This sticker is more lighthearted than the previous one, but it shares the same message (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Blackpool Road, 22/05/18).
In 2012-3, the Save Preston Bus Station Campaign fought to stop plans to demolish Preston Bus Station (PBS), a large brutalist building in the town centre that tends to provoke love-hate reactions. In September 2013, the building was granted Grade II listed status, and is currently undergoing redevelopment. I haven’t found any of these stickers left ‘in the wild,’ but one of my colleagues at UCLan was kind enough to give me this one (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 11/06/18).
University Teacher in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. Interested in the cultural, historical, and political geographies of resistance.
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