ON 20TH OCTOBER 200,000 people filled the streets of London from Lambeth to Hyde Park, in protest against austerity. There were people from diverse social and racial backgrounds, babies and great grannies, black and white, poor and slightly less poor (rumour has it the rich of London were huddled in Blitz-style terror behind the reinforced shutters of the Ritz), all having a laugh, a sing-song, a good chat and a shout in the sun. There were nurses, physiotherapists, train and bus drivers, teachers, pensioners, students, anarchists, socialists, communists, and people with disabilities: all with one thing in common, being fucked over by the government and wanting their voices heard! Most knew marching alone wouldn’t be enough, and there was a definite mood to take things further, but what better way to boost your own morale than meeting others who want things to change?
The highlights of the day came at the end of the march, as a couple of thousand malcontents took action against companies involved in tax-dodging and the government’s Workfare/slave labour scheme. Targets included a posh Hilton hotel, stormed and occupied just like McDonalds, Starbucks and Boots. Wheelchair-users and pensioners blocked the road at Marble Arch in protest at cuts to services and benefits, and reports are still rolling in of small-scale occupations and shutdowns all over London. In a telling moment, thousands of trade unionists booed Ed ‘I’m just like you in my £1.4 million mansion’ Miliband at Hyde Park as he tried to convince the crowd that red cuts hurt less than blue ones. Despite the great atmosphere, numbers were way down on the 500,000 strong anti-cuts demo last March. Why? Because the T.U.C. have sold us the occasional demo as an alternative to actions that really could stop the cuts, such as mass strikes, occupations and direct action. While angry workers made the most of the day to network amongst themselves, for the T.U.C. leadership, it was nothing more than a ‘re-elect Labour’ stunt and a pacifier to the thousands desperate to get properly stuck into the Tory scum. It is now the job of ordinary people to keep fighting, with or without the T.U.C.: a one-day strike and the odd protest is not a recipe for success and if the union leadership can’t deliver the action we need to be taking, it’s time to start doing it for ourselves, in our communities and in our workplaces. You never know, we could even be talking revolution.
