Leading actors, writers and cultural figures send messages of solidarity to help save the Observer
Maxine Peake, Tilda Swinton, Sheila Hancock and Armando Iannucci among those pledging support
A host of famous faces have sent messages of solidarity to Guardian and Observer journalists on the eve of their first strike for over 50 years.
Those who have pledged their support through statements include Armando Iannucci, Tilda Swinton, Sheila Hancock and Maxine Peake. Their full messages are below.
The NUJ is giving its full backing to staff during the four days of strikes, which are taking place 4-5 December and 12-13 outside the Guardian and Observer HQ in Kings Place, 90 York Way, King’s Cross, London.
During the first day, 4 December, key and well-known supporters are due to join staff on the picket line, which will begin at 8am, with a photo call at 11am.
Armando Iannucci, writer and director:
"Respect for the Observer and Guardian journalists and staff out today fighting for the long-term future of the Observer, now threatened by The Scott Trust’s rumoured plan to sell the paper off to Tortoise Media. Tortoise, though respected, is a small, loss-making venture and the sale would risk the Observer becoming a stripped-to-the-bone website behind a paywall and vulnerable to private takeover. This is NOT the best future for one of Britain’s last leading forward-thinking and independent newspapers. I urge The Scott Trust to look again at their £1.3bn endowment and think how they can best support one of the UK’s oldest and most respected newspapers.”
Tilda Swinton, actor:
“Sending all support, solidarity and love.”
Lord Chris Smith, former culture secretary:
"The Observer has always been a lynchpin of progressive journalism and thinking in Britain. It ought to be inconceivable that we might lose its unique position in the Sunday landscape. Yet that is now the imminent prospect. Let's do everything we can to save the Observer, as it now is."
Sheila Hancock, actor:
"I am deeply worried about what's happening. The Observer and the Guardian must not be diminished in any way.”
Barbara Kingsolver, author:
"I am writing to express my solidarity with the journalists who are planning to strike over the sale and impending decimation of our beloved Observer. Writers, journalists, cultural workers of all kinds are essential workers in the modern era and our labor is our only power. Our collective labor stands together with our hopes and vision of a better future. Good luck. Hold the line."
Jackie Kay, author:
“My Sunday is my Sunday because of the Observer - specifically the books pages! The cultural pages of the Observer are one crucial way of mirroring our life back at us and so crucial in helping us find new writers and affirm what we think of old ones. They form part of a national conversation that I would not be without!”
Kevin Day, comedian:
“Like many of the things I love, the Observer occasionally really irritates me but Sunday mornings are a fixed point in a changing world and I hug that ‘paper to me like a dear friend. Apart from the quality of the writing and the sheer breadth of its coverage, it gives me such hope to know other people are as baffled by what’s happening to our world as I am and are standing up for values I cherish. And it never, ever, punches down.”
Vanessa Redgrave, actor:
"Good luck! You all deserve the best!”
Jonathan Coe, author:
“I cannot see any sense or any logic in this proposal. At a time when left-liberal voices are under sustained attack from an ever-more powerful conservative media, online and off, it’s vital that the Observer retains its status as a long-established, well-respected and properly–funded Sunday paper. I send all my support for the striking journalists, who are fighting not just for themselves but for everyone who cherishes this great newspaper.”
Maxine Peake, actor:
“I would like to express my utmost solidarity with the journalists of The Observer. While I don’t always see eye to eye with the paper it doesn’t mean I don’t want to add my voice to the fight for its survival. In a landscape that is suffocated by the rule of mass media the Observer stands out shining a light on a more alternative and progressive viewpoint that we cannot afford to lose.”
Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner:
"I send my solidarity to striking journalists who want to save The Observer as a beacon of liberal journalism. The paper gave me my first journalistic break in the 1970s when I exposed child labour on British owned tea estates in Malawi and massacres by Indonesian troops in occupied West Papua. I want the Observer to survive so that current and future journalists can continue to expose human rights abuses. The only sure way to secure this is if the Observer remains part of the Guardian Media Group and not handed to the loss-making Tortoise organisation. I stand with you. Your fight is a fight for the quality journalism that is vital for an informed democracy. Wishing you success."
Ian McEwan, author:
“GMG/The Scott Trust have disgracefully kept the Observer hidden these past years. The status quo mustn’t continue and I hope the fight for a better future, clear identity and independence can be found for this mighty voice.”
Michael Rosen, author:
"I don't agree with everything in the Observer. Of course not. But it's one of the few places left in the world of mainstream mass media where alternative, radical, and off-beat ideas are heard. The plans being made for the ownership of the Observer that I've seen seem unthought out, financially risky and with no guarantees that the present width and depth will be maintained."
Olivia Laing, author:
“The Observer is an essential part of the British, and indeed global, media landscape. We are living in a time in which truth is imperilled, and in which newspapers are more vital than ever. We have already lost the Independent and the Evening Standard. I truly think the damage caused by the loss of the Observer would be incalculable. I don’t think Tortoise is a safe home for the world’s oldest Sunday paper. I also believe its loss would weaken the Guardian as an online entity too, particularly in terms of the excellence of its writing. I would really urge the Scott Trust to reconsider its decision, and to preserve the Observer intact, as part of its commitment that the Guardian is not and never will be for sale.”
Rob Biddulph, author and illustrator:
"Handing over Britain's oldest newspaper to a smaller, financially uncertain media outlet will not only risk the paper's journalistic integrity by stripping it of its editorial support and global reach, but will also threaten its commitment to truth. In a world where strong independent voices are harder and harder to find, let's not let another be muffled. Save The Observer."