Yesterday (March 26th 2011), between 300,000 and 600,000 people took to the streets of London for a national demonstration against the government. Each individual, of course, has different reasons for protesting – but it is not unfair to say that everyone was against the ConDem government’s economic and social policies in one form or another; whether it was because they are cutting your job, or because you don’t want a capitalist state at all.
The main demonstration, organised by the TUC, was billed as a ‘March for the Alternative’. This saw trade unionists, families, public sector workers, students and many others marching along an officially sanctioned route through central London, passing via Westminster and Downing Street before finishing at a rally in Hyde Park, at which academics, union leaders, politicians and community workers gave speeches encouraging the government to reconsider their economic policies and scale back or slow down their planned plethora of cuts to the state and public services.
Students, of course, have been marching since last November against the proposed cuts to education, and raising of the fees cap for universities, and have been pretty proactive in organising actions throughout 2011 (in London at least). However, TUC leaders decided to wait until March before staging their national demonstration, after the budget was announced last Wednesday. This, in my opinion, was a mistake – the burning anger and desire for change so present in November and December has inevitably dampened and subsided through a lack of mass public actions in the early months of 2011. The TUC should have seized the initiative, and organised mass action earlier on in the year, and then again in March.
The TUC were born out of a desire for a union who could organise militant direct action and social transformation, so it frustrates me that they are now so middle-of-the-road. When did ‘Leftist’ become such a dirty word? They described yesterday as ‘Middle Britain’ coming together to effect change, and now cannot bring themselves to call a general strike, or even to give protestors advice that differs from official Met guidelines. I can understand that things have changed since 1868, but why are they suddenly so against direct action?
Their ‘Senior Stewards’ (in their pink high-vis vests) were yesterday making themselves very busy, trying to make sure no-one dared do anything which might disrupt their big day out. In fact, a rather appropriate new label for them was being thrown around yesterday – the Tory’s Unofficial Cops. Do the TUC actually want change, or do they just want it to appear as though they do?
The most depressing thing is that everyone seems to have simply swallowed the ConDem propaganda, and accepted that cuts are inevitable. Even Ed Milliband, supposed leader of the ‘opposition’, decided to take the opportunity yesterday, when speaking at a March for the Alternative, to admit that the only difference between this government and Labour’s policies would be to slow the cuts down. Well that’s wicked – thanks Ed. As long as you take your time destroying British society, that’s fine then.
Of course, the speed and depth of the proposed cuts are a massive part of the problem with the ConDem’s economic policy. But is no-one in mainstream politics willing to even discuss the various alternative economic policies which have been put forward by those outside Westminster? Like the Robin Hood Tax? Or the Green New Deal? Or the corporation tax put forward by UKUncut? All of these are extremely viable options, which aren’t even massively radical.
But the government won’t hear out the debates over these policies, and as I have written before, they will not listen to marches and mass demonstrations. And don’t take my word for it - take Vince Cable’s, who told the BBC today that their economic policies would not budge; “No government - coalition, Labour or other - would change its fundamental economic policy simply in response to a demonstration of that kind".
There it is, as official and in writing as you will ever see – public opinion does not matter to this government. I would normally encourage peaceful protest and demonstrations, but what is the point in walking around central London shouting slogans and waving banners if it doesn’t affect anything? I am not an extremist, but I am a pragmatist. To actually effect the changes everyone was talking about wanting yesterday, or at least to stop all of the cuts we are faced with, we must use direct action.
Which is why I am incredibly disappointed by the TUC, the general public, and by many of my friends’ Facebook statuses and comments over the past 24 hours. Back in November and December, at the beginning of this movement, most people recognised that merely marching and protesting wasn’t going to be enough. However, the matter was still up for debate, and I don’t blame people for being optimistic about the possibilities of influencing policy through peaceful means. However, it is now past all reasonable doubt that non-violent action is a viable option. The only viable options are for direct action against the cuts, and/or to try and bring this government down by force.
When will people in the country wake up and realise this? The (unelected) Tory government is determined to seize this opportunity of power to push through economic policies which are driven by ideology and which have not been voted on or put in any manifesto. Marching won’t stop them. Peaceful protest won’t stop them. They already know they are unelected and unpopular – and they don’t care. They are seeking to protect their own personal interests, to enact their own personal ideologies, and are more than willing to force these upon an unwilling and unhappy electorate. They are either convinced that they are right, or convinced that they can get away with it. But the British public is too reserved, too submissive, or perhaps too comfortable to actually do anything about it. We should take heed of the recent revolutions across Africa and the Middle East, and force the government to listen to us.
So if peaceful protesting won’t effect change, then what to do? Well, first off – the TUC needs to call a general strike, now. Brendan Barber has the power to do this, as he said outright in a speech last week. So why not do it? What is he, and the rest of the TUC, waiting for?
For everyone else, what we must do is to participate in other direct actions. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again – we must strike, occupy, and resist. And we must support those who take direct action against this government, and the evil corporations who profit from and sustain it. As we saw yesterday, David Cameron (also read: the TUC)’s ‘small minority of anarchists’ determined on ‘hijacking’ the protests are no longer a small minority, but are rapidly becoming a majority; particularly amongst the youth. But we cannot leave it to others to change policy or bring down this government for us – we must all play our part in enacting change. Which is why I refuse to denounce the violence we saw yesterday, and why I will continue to actively encourage direct action against this government’s ideological assault against not just the least advantaged individuals and communities in Britain, but against the overwhelming majority of our society.
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