Hilary Benn set to join anti-poverty march
International Development Secretary, Hilary Benn, today revealed he is planning to join the anti-poverty march in Edinburgh next week.
Mr Benn also hinted that heavyweight Cabinet colleagues such as the Chancellor Gordon Brown could be in attendance in what would be a show of public/political solidarity.
The Make Poverty History demonstration on July 2 in Edinburgh is timed to coincide with the G8 summit of the world’s richest nations in Gleneagles.
In an interview for BBC One’s News 24 Sunday, Mr Benn stated: “I’m going to be in Edinburgh anyway, I’m doing meetings on Friday night and Saturday morning.”
“I think Gordon Brown is going to be there as well – this is a process for us all.”
The International Development Secretary agreed with the notion that tackling poverty is akin to the abolition of slavery.
Therefore, he reasoned how the fight against global poverty is the “moral challenge of our generation”.
He stated: “We can’t claim anymore that we don’t know what is going on. We see the lives that far too many of our fellow human beings live and we are in an age when we can do something about it.”
Mr Benn hailed the upcoming Live 8 concerts, saying they will act as expressions of support for the “desire of millions of people” who want to tackle world poverty.
“I welcome it enormously because I can never remember a time when we were debating to this extent with poverty, its causes, Africa and what we can do to make a difference.”
Bob Geldof yesterday urged tens of thousands of Glastonbury revelers to descend upon the Scottish locality next week.
Asked whether Sir Bob was wise in his rallying call, Mr Benn stated: “The organisers are working very closely with the police and I hope lots of people will turn up. The most important thing is it’s a safe demonstration.”
“In the end people are gathering because they want the political process to achieve something.”
Live 8 aims to raise money and awareness for plight of the poor in Africa.
Event organisers claim the event is set to become the largest global broadcast in TV history, with more than 5.5 billion people able to watch it in more than 140 countries.
