UK Newswire Archive
Students march against cuts, occupy Conservative Party HQ
11-11-2010 09:19
A march of more than 50,000 students and academics in London yesterday against the Conservative-Liberal Democratic coalition government’s education cuts ended in the occupation of the Tory Party’s headquarters and confrontations with riot police.Full article | 1 addition | 9 comments
Pictures From Student Demo
11-11-2010 04:45
Aid Workers On road To Gaza Abducted By Greek Captain
11-11-2010 03:52
PLEASE SIGN: Statement of solidarity with students arrested at Millbank
11-11-2010 03:02
A statement in solidarity with the student protesters arrested in London today - to sign email
teneleventen@gmail.com
Hamleys Toys migrant cleaners arrested in dawn raid
11-11-2010 01:53
Four suspected illegal immigrants were arrested yesterday during a dawn raid on the flagship Hamleys store in Regent Street, central London.They conducted a search of all seven floors of the shop and eventually rounded up 14 suspects - in the teddy bear shop section of the store.
Full article | 1 addition | 5 comments
Coach companies providing services to EDL
11-11-2010 01:13
The (we're not fascists, honest guv!) English Defence League (EDL) descended on Leicester on 10th October, 2010, for a day of racist taunts and attacks on anti-fascists and Asian residents of the town. Despite a rout in Bradford in August, the EDL were out in force and a crowd of over a thousand soon proceeded to hurl beer cans, rocks and fireworks at police and counter-demonstrators.
Open University 'partners' with Google
11-11-2010 01:09
The Open University (OU) has 'partnered' with Google to provide its students and staff with email accounts and other online tools, such as calendars and document storage. The service-level agreement is the latest landmark in the web giant's invasion of higher education. Many establishments are keen on cutting costs by outsourcing their IT services to commercial providers.Full article | 2 additions | 9 comments
Nick Clegg cancels visit to Oxford
11-11-2010 00:56
LibDem slimebag Nick Clegg has cancelled his visit to Oxford next week, after several inspiring and militant mass actions, citing 'a scheduling problem'.“Tory Scum, Education is a Right”…
11-11-2010 00:22
… it read one of the placards in today’s student demonstration in central London. And this short and sharp message not only seems to sum up the feelings of most of the 50,000 people that took to the streets to protest against the Government imposed cuts in education spending, but also the events that unfolded during the massive demonstration.
The crowds started to gather at Horse Guards Avenue at around 11am, and it quickly became obvious that this would be a very large protest. Feeder marches kept arriving to the meeting point, and so the crowds quickly swelled to the tens of thousand of people. At around 12.30pm the front of the march started to move down Whitehall with very loud chanting of “no ifs no buts no education cuts”. The crowd quickly broke through the barriers erected at the middle of Whitehall taking the whole street. As soon as the march arrived in Parliament Square a sit-down protest took place with around 150 people pointing to the Houses of Parliament chanting "That's not what democracy looks like, THIS is what democracy looks like".
Meanwhile the very lively and loud crowds kept passing down Parliament Square towards Millbank, and as the demo arrived at the Tory HQ at number 30 - otherwise known as the ‘Milbank Tower’ - a large crowd of around 3000 people quickly moved into the building’s courtyard and occupied it for the rest of the afternoon. People’s anger at the Tory / Liberals cuts quickly turned into action when the crowds kept pushing forward towards the main entrance of the building trying to storm it. At first, a thin line of police was protecting the front entrance, but the determined crowd kept pushing forward and so some windows got eventually smashed. At this point a large number of protestors stormed the building’s foyer and moved towards the upper the floors, whilst others quickly made it to the roof provoking loud cheers from the crowds at the courtyard. At this point a stronger line of riot police moved in to protect the building’s entrance, but this didn’t prevent people from occupying it for a good few hours of quite surreal images as riot police were ‘protecting’ the front entrance whilst, a few meters away, people were still breaking windows and entering the building. Eventually riot police moved into the building re-taking the foyer, keeping the crowds out.
By late afternoon a crowd of around 2000 people were still at the courtyard, and at around 4.30pm the mobile sound system announced that it was moving away towards the LSE where an ‘after-party’ event was taking place. Around 1000 people followed the sound-system back towards Parliament Square, passing large lines of riot police getting ready for what later turned out to be a kettle of those that stayed behind at the Millbank tower. The latest reports talk of a total number of 32 arrests at the kettle, where people have only been let out after being identified and photographed.
When passing Parliament Square we saw an ‘education camp’ being set up which intends to run a ‘free university’ with plans to hold the space for a period of time “to facilitate free public lectures and open discussion about proactive alternatives for higher education” [report]
All in all it turned out to be a very determined protest, where the anger people feel at the cuts in public and social spending clearly started to manifest itself in the streets of London. A banner hung at the ‘education camp’ reads “This is Only the Beginning”. If that proves to be true, then it seems that the Government’s imposed ‘austerity measures’ will not go down so smoothly and will be resisted in the months to come. Only time will tell.
Here there are some snaps from today’s events:
More reports in the IMC-London newswire:
National Walkout And Day Of Protest Against Fees 24.11.10
10-11-2010 23:52
anticuts.org.uk
http://anticuts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/walkout.pdf http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134751449911080 http://anticuts.com/
French worker's strike
10-11-2010 23:24
French worker's strikeOnnelacherien.org
The website is coming soon...
G20 Seoul: Breaking News/Links
10-11-2010 22:59
G20 Seoul, South Korea UPDATEBreaking News, Articles, Links, Videos
California Research Facility Requests Monkeys For Vivisection
10-11-2010 21:55
letter from animal researcher in California requesting monkeys for vivisectionParliament Square Occupied - Free University open
10-11-2010 21:22
Education Camp occupies Parliament Square and opens free university. If you're tired of shouting slogans and want to be part of the alternatives, come to Parliament Square.
As the dust settles on the chaos across central London, a new university has emerged: a free university in Parliament Square. The space was peacefully occupied by an autonomous group of students called Education Camp. Their intention is to hold the space for a period of time to facilitate free public lectures and open discussion about proactive alternatives for higher education. New students and professors are welcome.
Currently there is free movement of students on and off the campus. Already some professors are planning lectures for tomorrow. Help is needed tonight to hold the space through peaceful means. The university has asked people donate warm blankets and hot food to keep the resistance going, and for more students to participate in peacefully holding this space.
Decisions are being made by consensus and the group is non-hierarchical. The group is respectful of the space, intends to maintain it but also use it for a socially valuable activity - free higher education.
For more information call 07904 351392 or 07500 005838 or visit the new campus.
Tear Down the Wall - Palestine Benefit 26/11/10
10-11-2010 21:22
fundraiser for Palestinian community projectsFriday 26th Nov 2010
@ The Plough, Kilburn St, Easton
get yer asses out on the dancefloor for the Plough debut of the new, improved, dirtier, louder Kebele sound PA.
featuring:
DJ Krackpotkin
(Kebele sound)
mashupraggabass
DJ Pretty Boy
(Easton Cowboys)
cheesefest
Glitter Emergency
queerelectrosleazencheese
plus more tbc
9pm - late
£2 entry
It was about much more than university fees...
10-11-2010 21:01
52,000 people took to the streets in London today, but it was about much more than university fees. 10/11/2010.Digger Diving at Mainshill Open Cast Mine
10-11-2010 19:23
This week, a group from The Happendon Wood Action Camp (THWAC) entered the site of the Mainshill Open Cast Mine, stopping the transportation of coal off the site. A fully loaded dumper truck was brought to a halt on its way out of the mine's pit, and protesters climbed aboard. The presence of the 12 protesters on the site brought all work on the mine to a standstill for at least half an hour on Monday afternoon.
Protesters Shut Down Coal Terminal
10-11-2010 19:23
Ravenstruther coal rail terminal in South Lanarkshire was brought to a standstill this Wednesday morning when anti-coal protesters descended on to the site and climbed atop machinery. The coal rail terminal owned by Scottish Coal, is the main loading site for coal from all the open cast coal mines in the Douglas Valley area [1]. The cessation of work at the site this morning marks the fourth such attempt by activists to prevent coal from being transported from the terminal [2].
Full article | 1 addition | 2 comments
Update from occupied Tory HQ
10-11-2010 18:43
The occupation and blockade at Tory Parrty HQ at 30 Millbank continues after one and a half hours.