A grandfather who has led a gruelling hunger strike for forty days has finally had his demands delivered to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Paul Durant, 78, took to the war memorial on Blackpool beachfront in August to protest illegal migration and Labour's proposal to take winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners.
Frustrated by the lack of media attention he has received elsewhere, Durant has found support in GB News viewers and readers, who have followed his fight to draw the Government's attention to the plight of pensioners and the scourge of illegal migration on our communities.
After a month of protest that had often been met by silence from swathes of the media, the council and the government, Durant's MP Chris Webb visited the pensioner at home.
Paul Durant's letter was hand-delivered to No10 by his local MP
GB News
The Labour MP wrote in a Facebook post: "Last week, I was approached by several residents expressing their concerns about Paul Durant. Without hesitation, I visited Paul and his wife, Pauline, in their home to engage in a thorough discussion.
"During our conversation, I committed to delivering a letter from him to the Prime Minister. Today, after addressing Parliament on the crucial issues of regeneration on Waterloo Road and Bond Street, as well as the recent riots in Blackpool, I fulfilled that promise."
Webb then posted a photo of himself outside 10 Downing Street, holding Mr Durant's letter.
The hunger striking grandfather felt lifted that his demands had reached the Prime Minister: "We discussed the whole situation and he asked me if I would write a letter to Keir Starmer and I did. He says he has delivered that letter."
Pauline Durant underlined that her husband's letter was a personal plea: "We wrote it by hand as a personal letter to the Prime Minister."
In the letter, Durant writes: "I am writing to you as a deeply concerned citizen of Blackpool. I find myself in the unfortunate position of being 29 days into a hunger strike [at the time of writing], driven by my profound discontent at the state of my country.
Letter sent by Paul Durant
GB News
Paul Durant's wife said his hunger strike could end depending on the outcome of today's vote
"My protest is against what I perceive as the detrimental impact of mass immigration on our communities. Our resources and public services are overstretched. This has a direct impact on the quality of life of many UK citizens.
"I am alarmed by the existence of what many now see as a two-tier policing system which undermines the trust and safety that all citizens should expect from their government.
"Furthermore I implore you to reinstate the winter fuel grant for pensioners through the harsh winter months."Also, I believe the safety and protection of women and children must be paramount in Britain. I urge your government to take stronger action to ensure their wellbeing.
"Lastly, I am concerned that the Labour party, under your leadership is breaching the human rights of our UK citizens regarding our rights to freedom of expression.
"Open dialogue and differing opinions are essential in a democracy. It is vital that we protect those rights for all citizens.
"I hope you take my concerns seriously and understand the urgency behind my actions. I look forward to your response."
Durant's peaceful protest has at times been marred by harassment from those who disagree with him and even an altercation in which his 77 year old wife was shoved to the floor. The grandfather sat beside Blackpool's war memorial daily, with his British and English flags to plead with the government to reconsider its policies.
In August a pro-Palestine protester menaced Mr Durant with incessant chants of "Free, free Palestine" and "F*** Israel".
More recently a tall young man got into an altercation with Pauline Durant in front of their retiree friends. In a video posted to X, Pauline Durant can be heard asking the man to leave, to which he refused. A tussle ensued and the pensioner was shoved to the floor, banging her head on the pavement.
But Paul Durant felt taking the action he has taken to have his voice heard was worth the threat to his safety: "I'm going to continue my protest", he says.
The grandfather feels it is not an option to cow in fear when his convictions propel him to speak out. He urges Brits to stand up for themselves: "Don't be frightened. Please speak up. You cannot sit there and be mummified by a government with no common sense.
"We cannot be gagged, we're not saying anything wrong. We only want a fair system. We don't mind good people coming."
The pensioner is yet to hear back from Starmer: "I've had no response."
The Durants await today's vote on the removal of the winter fuel payment from 10 million pensioners.
"It all depends on Tuesday. If the vote goes our way, he will eat" said Durant's worried wife.
Chris Webb MP did not respond to a request for comment.
