"The word "democracy" has been tarnished by the politicians who benefit from its Parliamentary form.

But do not forget that people fought and died for democracy, for the right of universal suffrage.

The Peterloo Massacre was one such event but the calls for freedom, justice and democracy were meet with murder and suppression.

The shameful object that seeks to serve as a commemorative plaque to this event hides the struggle of working people, it hides the urgency of their demands and the brutality of the state.

To fail to refer to the massacre, to fail to refer to the deaths and instead skip over these events is an act of historical vandalism akin to Stalin airbrushing dissidents out of photographs."

Mark Thomas, comedian