General election hustings in Sheffield: tense moments as candidates talk about the right to protest

Seven candidates were present at St Thomas Church in Crookes, Sheffield, to answer questions about what they (or their parties) would do to solve the problem that is the climate emergency.

The candidates were as follows:

Angela Argenzio – Central, Green Party

Olivia Blake – Sheffield Hallam, Labour Party

Sam Chapman – Sheffield Hallam, Rejoin EU

Isaac Howarth – Sheffield Hallam, Conservative

Shaffaq Mohammed – Sheffield Hallam, Liberal Democrats

Mick Suter – Sheffield Heeley, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Alison Teal – Central, Independent

As it could slightly be seen as off-topic, it took more than 90 minutes for the candidates to talk about the Sheffield tree protests or the Sheffield tree scandal.

When a question of the right to protest came up, it was Alison Teal, one of the faces of the Sheffield tree campaigners, who had the microphone first.

Ms Teal said she was very active during the tree campaign, she was arrested, had an injunction taken out against her by Sheffield City Council, was taken to the High Court and faced with a threat of prison.

She said: “All because the Labour council at the time were incredibly spiteful.”

Ms Teal added the council used their decision to “waste a considerable amount of public money” and she called for an apology (while clearly looking at Olivia Blake, the Labour candidate, who at the time of the tree scandal was part of the cabinet at Sheffield Council).

Ms Teal said the right to protest was “absolutely vital”.

During Ms Blake’s response, she said she had never voted “on any proposals whatsoever as a councillor to use any legislation any individuals”.

This is when Shaffaq Mohammed interrupted her saying Ms Blake had voted to throw Ms Teal out of the council chamber back in the day.

“It’s on public record”, he added.

Ms Blake repeated what she had said and added she had apologised as the deputy leader of the council, at the time, about the actions of the council.

She said: “I completely accept all the recommendations of the Lowcock Report, what happened in this city is a stain on this city and what happened whilst I was there I know was wrong and I was fighting at the time for change.”

Ms Blake then apologised to Ms Teal “for the way” she was treated.

Members of the panel agreed that the right to protest was fundamental in the UK.

Last year, Sir Mark Lowcock’s report said the council was slow to grasp the reputational damage of the debacle which had become a defining fact about the city, years later.

His 100,000-word report detailed the failings of the Streets Ahead programme that aimed to fell 17,500 street trees as part of the £2.2billion contract between the council and Amey.

Sir Mark found that the council overstretched its authority in taking drastic action against campaigners, had serious and sustained failures in leadership and misled the public, courts and an independent panel it set up to deal with the dispute.

One of Sir Mark’s recommendations was that the council apologise to the court – which it did in December 2023 with the letter published at the end of January 2024.

In June, the council issued an apology to all residents of Sheffield for its actions during the street trees dispute.