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NUS national protest against the cuts 10.11.10 [London]

Gerry1time said:
Respond en masse to their consultations. They're legally obliged to take those responses into account, and demonstrate how they have done so. It really, genuinely makes a difference to the policy officials.

There are then many things that can happen from there in terms of processes, but seriously, if you respond to a government consultation, they legally have to listen to your response.
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I've been involved in two government consultations while temping in the civil service. One of them they started writing up the responses before they received them, because they 'knew what people would say and didn't have time to wait'. The other was a little more subtle but effectively the process was the same. They 'knew' everyone's position beforehand and had a ready 'line' for all of them, having already decided what they were going to do.

The very fact that you can say 'legally obliged to take the responses into account' with a straight face suggests a lot about your naivety. Even if that were enforcable - which it isn't - it only really means they are legally obliged to read them and invent some reason to ignore them. Civil servants are very good at inventing reasons to ignore people. It's pretty much one of their main specialities. They built entire careers on it. I know, because I've worked in government too :p
 
Gerry1time said:
Well of course. Just look at the people in the photo, one of whom is now in government, one of whom is now mayor of London. The other 8 of whom are nothing to do with this. And Boris had nothing to do with it either, so make that 1 person in that photo who's ruining it for the rest of us.
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boris is ruining it for the rest of us and i'm sure the rest are in their various ways.
 
madzone said:
I've had the opposite. If I hear anyone else say 'Well, all they've done is undermine their point and spoil it for everyone who wanted to protest peacefully' I'm going to smack them in the gob.
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really? wheres that? I think the majority of people are thinking students arent just a bunch of spoilt layabouts (as a rule british peopple hate students more than anywhere else in the world from what i can tell). but then again im getting that from the three people ive had time to talk about it to.

*was thinking this morning its nice to see that the police havent infilitrated everywhere to know in advance of any direct action that will take place - expect the desperate hiring of student snitches. 1-0
 
If I were a student, I'd now be spending my spare time between riots harassing aaron porter to resign. Think he likely to get a lot of abuse over his various media appearances yesterday...
 
the police have just made the next riot more certain, through the implication that there will be considerably more police deployed at future demonstrations in a desperate attempt to make sure we see less of this sort of thing. in addition, stephenson's made a rod for his own back by his emphasis that this will not happen again! it will be difficult, i think, for the 26 march demonstration not to kick off, given the likely police over-reaction to anti-cuts demonstrations over the coming months.

while there is the chance that some police careers are a bit fucked by the failure to spot the potential for a ruck, i suspect the upshot of this will be another one or two intelligence collators and analysts within co11, although public order intelligence may be brought in with the met intelligence bureau. but i imagine that the cops responsible for public order intelligence collation and analysis are going to be saying they were understaffed rather than they were useless at their job.
 
killer b said:
If I were a student, I'd now be spending my spare time between riots harassing aaron porter to resign. Think he likely to get a lot of abuse over his various media appearances yesterday...
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he's going to be rather embarrassed if any of the people nicked were off the national executive!
 
I was at the NUS march yesterday. The mach started off brilliantly, atmosphere was buzzing, and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. The vast majority of people there, marched, rallied, and then went home. They didn't disappear off because they were bored as somebody suggested earlier, but because we had said what we had come to say, made our point, and followed the plan. I'm strongly opposed to such a drastic rise in fees, but I got that accross with chants and banners, not smashing up buildings, abusing police officers who were only doing their job, or setting fires all over London.
Considering how excited I was about both how the march had gone(during the arranged times, not what happened afterwards), and my first ever visit to London, I came away feeling dissapointed, deflated and embarrassed. That was caused by such a small minority of the people who were there, and it has completely undermined what everybody else had done on the day. The head of my student union at Teesside University Laurie Wheatman was on the phone to the radio; when asked how long it was going to take us to get home, she commented that we had been on the bus for an hour and a half, and were still not yet out of central London. His response to that, was that it was a hold up that we ouselves had caused. This was an unfair and untrue comment to make. Teesside University were amongst the peacefull protesters, hence us all being on the bus at the planned time, not being detained by the police, and I for one really resent being lumped in with the students who behaved in that disgusting way.
 
Student_Teacher said:
I was at the NUS march yesterday. The mach started off brilliantly, atmosphere was buzzing, and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. The vast majority of people there, marched, rallied, and then went home. They didn't disappear off because they were bored as somebody suggested earlier, but because we had said what we had come to say, made our point, and followed the plan. I'm strongly opposed to such a drastic rise in fees, but I got that accross with chants and banners, not smashing up buildings, abusing police officers who were only doing their job, or setting fires all over London.
Considering how excited I was about both how the march had gone(during the arranged times, not what happened afterwards), and my first ever visit to London, I came away feeling dissapointed, deflated and embarrassed. That was caused by such a small minority of the people who were there, and it has completely undermined what everybody else had done on the day. The head of my student union at Teesside University Laurie Wheatman was on the phone to the radio; when asked how long it was going to take us to get home, she commented that we had been on the bus for an hour and a half, and were still not yet out of central London. His response to that, was that it was a hold up that we ouselves had caused. This was an unfair and untrue comment to make. Teesside University were amongst the peacefull protesters, hence us all being on the bus at the planned time, not being detained by the police, and I for one really resent being lumped in with the students who behaved in that disgusting way.
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What do you think protesting peacefully would have achieved? Do you seriously and truly think that peaceful protest is going to make any difference or are you quite happy with just having your disapproval 'registered'.
 
ska invita said:
really? wheres that? I think the majority of people are thinking students arent just a bunch of spoilt layabouts (as a rule british peopple hate students more than anywhere else in the world from what i can tell). but then again im getting that from the three people ive had time to talk about it to.

*was thinking this morning its nice to see that the police havent infilitrated everywhere to know in advance of any direct action that will take place - expect the desperate hiring of student snitches. 1-0
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It was the young students on my course actually.

And mr madz but he's been 'told'.
 
Student_Teacher said:
I was at the NUS march yesterday. The mach started off brilliantly, atmosphere was buzzing, and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. The vast majority of people there, marched, rallied, and then went home. They didn't disappear off because they were bored as somebody suggested earlier, but because we had said what we had come to say, made our point, and followed the plan. I'm strongly opposed to such a drastic rise in fees, but I got that accross with chants and banners, not smashing up buildings, abusing police officers who were only doing their job, or setting fires all over London.
Considering how excited I was about both how the march had gone(during the arranged times, not what happened afterwards), and my first ever visit to London, I came away feeling dissapointed, deflated and embarrassed. That was caused by such a small minority of the people who were there, and it has completely undermined what everybody else had done on the day. The head of my student union at Teesside University Laurie Wheatman was on the phone to the radio; when asked how long it was going to take us to get home, she commented that we had been on the bus for an hour and a half, and were still not yet out of central London. His response to that, was that it was a hold up that we ouselves had caused. This was an unfair and untrue comment to make. Teesside University were amongst the peacefull protesters, hence us all being on the bus at the planned time, not being detained by the police, and I for one really resent being lumped in with the students who behaved in that disgusting way.
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Thanks for your comments, you made me smile with your breathtaking naivety.
 
Gerry1time said:
Well of course. Just look at the people in the photo, one of whom is now in government, one of whom is now mayor of London. The other 8 of whom are nothing to do with this. And Boris had nothing to do with it either, so make that 1 person in that photo who's ruining it for the rest of us.
Click to expand...

I'd like to believe a few of them had rejected their given status, were providing front line care to older people, trying to cure hiv/aids, or even just growing organic veg.

However I've never known anyone who would have been such an utter tool as to be in that pic. My guess therefore is that most of them remain utter greedy bell-ends with few unpaid student debts.

But happy to be proved wrong.
 
So, what comes next? I couldn't be there yesterday but I would like to be involved in any future protest. I think we owe it to the people who made their feelings so clear yesterday not to let this fizzle out or be a one off. I have to be careful not to get arrested before January though :D
 
jiggajagga said:
Poll tax march = violence= change of government policy
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Actually: Poll tax = mass non-payment = collapse of their own legal system = change of government policy

the one day riot was just icing and spectacle

not to say it I disagree that violence cannot play a role but - on its own - it just as disempowering/limited as a to b marching
 
Having seen how pointless peaceful protest was in 2003, it just makes sense.
 
jiggajagga said:
I agree.
Poll tax march = violence= change of government policy
Womens rights march = violence and civil disobediance = change of government policy
March against war in Iraq = peacful = no change of government policy
Nuff said?
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Miners Strike = Violence and civil disobediance = no change of government policy
Gurka right to stay = peacefull = Change of government policy
Anti-ID card campaign = peacefull = Change of government policy
June 18th = Violence and civil disobediance = no change of policy
 
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