Labour Research September 2015

Reviews

100 acts of minor dissent

Mark Thomas, September Publishing, 192 pages, paperback, £9.99

Did you know that Mark Thomas is a Guinness World Record holder for holding 20 protests in 24 hours? Or that he cost British Nuclear Fuels over £1 million in clean-up operations after exposing irradiated pigeon shit?

In 2014, Thomas set himself a challenge with dire consequences if he failed (a donation to UKIP would be the forfeit), and began 12 months of dissent. From returning junk mail in their pre-paid envelopes, to finding a new definition for the word ‘farage’, he took on causes big and small.

The project grew to acts of national consequence: such as the tax arrangements of the likes of Apple, Google and Amazon; campaigning against the degrading Work Capability Assessment; and supporting better wages for John Lewis cleaners, .

He used these experiences for a series of comedy sketches which have now been turned into a book.

Thomas approaches all these issues with equal gusto. We might not all find ourselves leading a national campaign, but Thomas shows there is still plenty we can do to get up the noses of big business and those in charge.

Reviews contributed by the Bookmarks socialist bookshop.

Order online at www.bookmarksbookshop.co.uk