HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

SouthCoast Indymedia

It was about much more than university fees...

Still Thinking | 10.11.2010 21:01 | Education | Public sector cuts | South Coast

52,000 people took to the streets in London today, but it was about much more than university fees. 10/11/2010.

52,000 people took to the streets in London today, surged past Downing Street, devastated police lines, and occupied the ruling Conservative party's HQ at 30 Millbank Towers, Westminster. The original march was organised by the National Union of Students (NUS ) in order to demonstrate the feelings of those soon to be, or already, studying at university with regards to the massive increase in tuition fees as well as the simultaneous funding slashes of higher educational institutions.

But the protest was about much more than that. It was about the growing discontent that began long ago, nurtured by the recession, MP's expenses, big-bank bailouts, and finally brought to a head by a coalition government fronted by classicist Conservative party and propped up by a hypocritical Liberal Democrat party bent on cuts in the name of the 'Big Society'.

It was billed as a march by students to protest the hike in tuition fees from roughly £3,500 per annum to as much as £9,000. Coupled with this was a cut in the funding that universities and other HI education bodies would receive, resulting in fewer courses, less contact time between students and lecturers, more redundancies, and even closures.

In reality, it was a broad cross section of society demonstrating its frustration at a status quo willing to hand over billions in tax payer's money to financial institutions, only for George Osborne to turn around and say; now you must get used to 'austerity'.

According to the Guardian Online , the march numbered at 52,000, more than double the NUS 's estimate which would seem to point to people other than students taking part. Indeed, the NUS 's president, Aaron Porter, has already distanced his union from the day's events by "absolutely condemning" what he calls violence at the hands of a "minority" of "splinter groups".

But in watching the footage which covers the news channels, it is hard to believe that this was anything other than a determined cross-section of people who felt a common purpose, a shared goal, a true example of Mr Cameron's "Big Society", to make their opposition to the government's will noticed.

From within the occupied Tory HQ, activists have released this statement;

"We oppose all cuts and we stand in solidarity with public sector workers, and all poor, disabled, elderly and working people. We are occupying the roof in opposition to the marketisation of education pushed through by the coalition government, and the system they are pushing through of helping the rich and attacking the poor. We call for direct action to oppose these cuts- this is only the beginning of the resistance to the destruction of our education system and public services."

So in the coming days the coalition government will likely gloss over the fact that this was a demonstration of a disaffected public, and paint it as a violent skirmish by a radical few. But we must remember that the reality was thousands from all walks of life rallied against a common enemy, and we must continue to do so.

Still Thinking

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

South Coast [navigation.actions2016]

South Coast [navigation.actions2015]

South Coast [navigation.actions2014]

NATO 2014

South Coast Actions 2013

G8 2013

South Coast Actions 2012

Workfare

South Coast Actions 2011

2011 Census Resistance
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Occupy Everywhere

South Coast Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

South Coast Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

South Coast Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

South Coast Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

South Coast Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

South Coast Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

South Coast Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

South Coast Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech