Thatchers Cider responds to calls for boycotts and links to slavery

Thatchers Cider has responded to cries for boycotts from campaigners against the veneration of Edward Colston in Bristol after it was revealed its owner’s membership to a merchants’ society has links to slave trading.

Speaking to the drinks business, fourth-generation cider maker Thatcher highlighted how his membership with the Society of Merchant Venturers (SMV) was in fact a way to help the society not just recognise its past, but adapt and move forwards in a positive way with “a fresh perspective to thinking”.

The activist group, Countering Colston, highlights the society’s historic links to Edward Colston and has campaigned for years to remove the 17th-century slaver and philanthropist’s statue and name from the city’s streets and institutions. In June 2020, the SMV came under the spotlight with the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol during a Black Lives Matter protest.

This week, Countering Colston launched a “Don’t Buy Thatchers’’ campaign with a tweet stating: “Martin Thatcher, director of the company, is a member of the Society of the Merchant Venturers. The SMV has deep roots in the historical slave trade in Bristol, and its members were responsible for the suffering and death of tens of thousands of human beings. They are a powerful unelected elite who have significant influence on political and civic life in Bristol.”

Thatcher, who joined the SMV 10 years ago, during which time he highlights how he has been involved in many charitable and community activities that the society leads.

Thatcher explained that his membership is about working with the community in Bristol and told db: “During the time I have been a member, I have been able to contribute to the valuable, community work that members of the Merchant Venturers do with organisations across Bristol, from care homes to education establishments.  As a relative newcomer to the society, I hope I’ve been able to bring a fresh perspective to thinking, in particular as to how the SMV needs to acknowledge what has happened in the past, yet continue to do its fantastic work for people across all Bristol communities in a way fitting and relevant for our lives today.”

He added: “Thatchers has received incredible support this week from people both in Bristol and across the country and I feel personally very humbled and overwhelmed by the generous comments we’ve been receiving. I see my role within the SMV as working with other members to help improve people’s lives in communities across the city of Bristol and to drive change for today.”

The family-owned cider company reiterated how Thatcher has always played an active role within the community and highlighted how he and his family have also formed The Thatchers Foundation in 2016, which also supports charities across Somerset. Thatcher added that he has been overwhelmed by the hundreds of messages of support he has received following calls by an activist group in Bristol calling for drinkers to boycott the brand.