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As source material, I used photographs from recent protests and from historic ones, finding far more examples I wanted to include than there were days in the month.

The slogans were witty, thoughtful, persuasive — and when seen together, are demonstrative of how protest, far from being solely about anger and violence, can actually bring out the best in dissenting citizens. 

When the month ended, I carried on until I had fifty good examples, and could have drawn many more.

Placards are an artform in themselves: having seen the collection of embroidered banners at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, I know they are also valuable and often beautiful records of social history.

And I carried on, drawing more material to cover my memories of CND, poll tax and Section 28 protests from childhood, the Brexit marches of the last few years, and thoughts about the Bill as it was still going through Parliament.

When it was all ready, I got it printed up. What I’d intended to be first a quick Instagram exercise, then decided would be a hastily-compiled zine, had – because I found I had so much to say on the subject – finally become an 80-page book.

You can purchase the book here. This is a first iteration. The placards are timeless, but politics is ever-moving and the pages written while the Bill went through Parliament will eventually stand as historic records.

Future editions might replace these pages with a more retrospective look, or more timeless content. And I would very much like to develop this project into a fuller length book: if any publishers are interested, please do get in touch.