On Saturday 6 November, Notts SOS held a protest outside the Vodafone store on Clumber Street. Although the store was effectively closed even before campaigners arrived, this was far from an inspiring demonstration with the analysis leaving much to be desired.

Vodafone is potentially a useful propaganda focus for the anti-cuts campaign. At the same time as the government are making almost 500,000 people unemployed, slashing benefits and attacking welfare, they are allowing corporations like Vodafone to avoid paying billions of pounds in tax. It is clear demonstration of the fact that the cuts are neither "necessary" nor "fair."

Unfortunately, the local left appear to have confused an illustrative point (the government say we don't have any money, but are letting Vodafone and others dodge billions in tax) with a political demand (Vodafone should pay their tax). The result was a muddled, embarrassing spectacle.

"Vodafone, pay your tax!" is hardly a slogan to set the working class alight and indeed many of the passers-by (and this being Clumber Street, there were many) seemed bemused at best. At one point a Toryboy heckler reduced the protest almost literally to Pantomime ("Vodadfone owe their tax. Oh yes they do"). For me the low point was when one of the megaphone users began suggesting that the Vodafone board should meet on Monday and have as the first item on their agenda "why paying tax is important."

Listening to the speakers you got the impression that if only Vodafone paid the tax they owe (which, in an intriguing instance of lefty inflation, rose from £6bn, the figure estimated by Private Eye to be Vodafone's liability, to a baseless £7bn) the government wouldn't have to be cutting services as they are. Because they don't want really want to. The truth of course, is that this is exactly what they've wanted to do for years and the cuts constitute a deliberate policy to make the working class pay for the economic crisis caused by bankers.

As if to underline the limited ambition of the speakers, there was a bizarre focus on the cuts being made to the police and armed forces. Gone, it appears, are the demands that troops be withdrawn from Afghanistan and the money invested in social welfare. Ditto demands that the UK slash its defence spending and channel it into something useful.

The anti-cuts movement has real potential for growth as the cuts begin to bite, but if this is the best we have to offer to people dismissed from their jobs, denied welfare or evicted from their council house, then we shouldn't be surprised if they ignore us. I continue to hope that when things get going, popular anger will render the more ineffective sections of the movement irrelevant. Whether there is any real basis for this hope is another question entirely.