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NUS national protest against the cuts 10.11.10 [London]

where to said:
this photo is apparently taken shortly after riot police turned up to protect Lib Dems offices, they just got there before the protesters its said.

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There's more than sufficient police presence as standard in Cowley Street anyway, as it's not just home the lib dem HQ, but a number of other important political figures too. Who have armed police outside their front doors 24/7.

I do doubt that that this was a 'just in time' exercise.
 
on radio earlier on, some top fem cop said they had ~225-250 cops available initially, for a crowd of possibly 50k, def 25k. after recent events, they had to be a bit softly-softly. lots of footie matches on tonight. lots of media (particularly of the social kind) in case some cop goes rogue. good on people for taking advantage of a situation.

and now?
 
Paulie Tandoori said:
on radio earlier on, some top fem cop said they had ~225-250 cops available initially, for a crowd of possibly 50k, def 25k. after recent events, they had to be a bit softly-softly. lots of footie matches on tonight. lots of media (particularly of the social kind) in case some cop goes rogue. good on people for taking advantage of a situation.

and now?
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TBH policing and esp london policing is neither here nor there in the anti-cuts fight. That;s just not where the battle is going to won or lost.
 
butchersapron said:
TBH policing and esp london policing is neither here nor there in the anti-cuts fight. That;s just not where the battle is going to won or lost.
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no, not at all. just an observation about the coverage, the chaos and the probable miminal impact on the cunting cuts.

but all the same, nice to see some fire in the belly on a chilly day.
 
Paulie Tandoori said:
no, not at all. just an observation about the coverage, the chaos and the probable miminal impact on the cunting cuts.

but all the same, nice to see some fire in the belly on a chilly day.
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Each anti-cuts coalition will now have this on the agenda - win the battle for aggressive immediate action over the next month and we'll have hurdled the jumps the STWC put in people's way already. If that comes about because of this - result.
 
butchersapron said:
TBH policing and esp london policing is neither here nor there in the anti-cuts fight. That;s just not where the battle is going to won or lost.
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What do you mean here? I love the street action but tbh one of the reasons for that is that I see fuck all else going on in the organisational sense. Or rather, nothing large scale - lots of small scale things. And even if a bunch of groups - students, unions, mentalists etc - unite, they would likely unite behind getting labour back in, because what else is there? :confused::mad:
 
I have no fucking idea what you just asked me, or what relevance it has to stopping the cuts - i'm assuming you're being an isolated toff or something?
 
butchersapron said:
I have no fucking idea what you just asked me, or what relevance it has to stopping the cuts - i'm assuming you're being an isolated toff or something?
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:D I wasn't having a go. I was asking where you think the battle will be won or lost? And a subsidiary question about what exactly the battle will be for.
 
I was there on the march today too, but not at Millbank. The atmosphere was pretty good all the way through.

Found out when I got back that unfortunately, Nick Clegg has had to cancel his visit to Oxford University..........
 
Paulie Tandoori said:
power to the people perhaps?
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Yeah, that's what I'd like to see. What I fear I will see is 'power back to Labour'.


As dissent at the cuts increases labour will presumably re-position themselves in such a way as to look like they are the natural channel for that dissent. I'd like to think people's memories weren't so short, but that would be wishful thinking.
 
Brainaddict said:
Yeah, that's what I'd like to see. What I fear I will see is 'power back to Labour'.
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You are missing the point though.

Extraparliamentary power forces concessions and acts as a counterpressure to demands of the Market and its political representatives. Hence the better working conditions in France.

It is a mistake to look at which manager is in charge, it is the parameters of 'political reality' which are altered by the development of a militant public mood.
 
Brainaddict said:
Yeah, that's what I'd like to see. What I fear I will see is 'power back to Labour'.
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Labour are fucked for at least one more election, imo.

whether the populace has the desire for something a bit more radical is more questionable, unfortunately.

it's at times like this, i need danny-la-rouge to give me some positive thinking tbh.
 
kropotkin said:
You are missing the point though.

Extraparliamentary power forces concessions and acts as a counterpressure to demands of the Market and its political representatives. Hence the better working conditions in France.

It is a mistake to look at which manager is in charge, it is the parameters of 'political reality' which are altered by the development of a militant public mood.
Click to expand...
I like that line of thought :)
 
Brainaddict said:
:D I wasn't having a go. I was asking where you think the battle will be won or lost? And a subsidiary question about what exactly the battle will be for.
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You didn't though. Go on have a look at what you actually said. You said that you see nothing and i suggested a reason why you see nothing. The battle will be won or lost around how the bulk of people, the working class react, and how far they're prepared to act to stop the cuts - from passive refusal to comply to outright rebellion. The policing is one part of the country is neither here nor there.

Currently there are thousands of groups organising themselves - organising themselves to defend their own conditions and those of their family/friends from ongoing or expected attacks. To make those battles into something more than defence, to turn them into something offensive, you have to be in there, and you have to be in there demonstrating that your way is a) more effective in immediate defence of those interests and b) more likely to ensure they'll not only be defended but also extended in the future. That's what politics is. It's not washing your hands and saying oh it'll only get labour in. It'll only get labour in if we don't bother using an unprecedented wave of public anger to build something else.

The open thatcherite wasn't her worst present- it's the uncommitted liberal.
 
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