UK UK Newswire Archive
#26march update on blocs
24-03-2011 17:22
Political Dynamite update on what's going on...
The TUC ‘March for the Alternative’ on Saturday will make history. That much is clear. What is not yet clear, is how.
Reportedly there more than 850 coaches are coming from around the country and 10 chartered trains. Awareness of the march in London is also very high. Some people on coaches may be dropped off in outer London and be required to catch the tube in to town.
The starting point for the main march is 11am on Victoria Embankment, although the march may still be leaving the Victoria Embankment at 2. It will then pass past Parliament Square; up Whitehall to Trafalgar Sq, over to Regent St; down Piccadilly and enter Hyde Park.through the streets of London to Hyde Park, where it will be addressed by Trade Union leaders.
The only politician on the platform will be Ed Miliband. The decision to include Miliband on the podium has proven somewhat contraversial because of his support for cuts and his role in the Labour Government at the time of the financial crisis.
As there are various alternatives to cuts, different people with different viewpoints will make their points in different ways.
Political Dynamite will have ‘embedded’ bloggers with different parts of the day’s activities and will be tweeting on the day too (follow @poldyn). If you can’t make it you can do your bit by tweeting too.
Here’s a taster of just some of the groupings on the day that have been circulated on social media. There will be many more (note these have mostly been organised autonomously)
Before it starts
Bike Bloc/Hackney meetup point
Meet 10am Hackney Town Hall for a critical mass in to London, reminding people to come on the march. People from Hackney going in by public transport will also be meeting up here, as well as at Homerton Hospital at 9.30am.
South London feeder march
11am, Kennington Park (nearest tube Oval) . Will include Latin American Bloc and Radical Workers’ Bloc.
East London feeder march
10.45am, Altab Ali Park, Whitechapel Rd (bottom of Brick Lane)
Central London
11am, Lincolns Inn Fields, WC2
Education Blocs
ULU, Malet St, from 10am to march off at 11:30am
LSE, Houghton St, 11-11:30am
KCL, The Strand, 11:30am
Westminster Kingsway College, Kings Cross Centre; meet 10am on Grays Inn Road
Haringey
Activists from Haringey Alliance for Public Services are meeting at 10am on 26th March at both Turnpike Lane and Seven Sisters tube stations to travel to the protest.
For the march
Trades Unions
Each trade union has a designated assembly point at the start of the march running along the Victoria Embankment. Walk along until you find yours.
For example the Federation of Entertainment Unions – Equity, Musicians union, BECTU, NUJ, Writers Guild and the PFA – will be marching together, meeting at ‘position 13′ on the Embankment. They say they have a soundsystem.
London and Eastern UNITE also be there, on the Embankment, somewhere between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo, near to Cleaopatra’s needle where there will be two huge red Unite balloons.
Westminster UNISON will meet at 10:00am on Saturday 26th March outside City Hall before joining the main UNISON meet up. UNISON is likely to have giant purple balloons.
The Royal College of Nurses headquarters is open for members from 9-10 for tea and coffee and to pick up T-shirts.
6 Billion Ways Bloc
Supporters of Jubilee Debt campaign, War on Want, Friends of the Earth and others will meet where Temple Place meets Surrey Street on the Victoria Embankment at 11am.
Green Party Bloc
Green Party supporters will meet at Temple Tube at 10.30
Climate and Cuts
Activists seeking to show the links between Climate Change and Cuts will meet under Waterloo Bridge (South side), outside the BFI, at 11.30am
Quakers March for the Alternative
Meet in front of Westminster Friends Meeting House, 52 St Martins Lane, London, WC2N 4EA at 11 for a 30-minute meeting for worship at 11.30. More info here
Puppets for protest
Meeting Point – 11am – Jubilee Gardens (behind the London Eye), County Hall, London SE1 7PB. Bring a pupper. No strings attached (bum bum). More info here
Woodcraft Folk bloc
11.30 at Lincoln’s Inn Fields
Buggy bloc
For people with children. Meeting point Victoria Embankment Gardens at 11.30am. More info here.
Women’s bloc
10am outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, WC2A 2LL, and departing at 10.30am. Includes Women MPs such as Harriet Harman. Will be followed by direct action. It is unconfirmed whether Harriet Harman will be involved in this part.
Welfare not warfare bloc (CND and Stop the War Coalition)
Meet on Embankment, by the moored ship HMS President, 11 o clock
Black triangle and disabled people’s bloc
Savoy Street (behind the Savoy Hotel & The Strand) W1
Pink and Black Bloc
Soho Square, London W1D, 10am, Called by Queer Resistance
Sound off for justice protest choir
Welcoming anyone who can sing. Setting off from the Royal Courts of Justice at 10.45am. Will be marching with the Justice for All Campaign, highlighting cuts to Legal Aid
Alternative Master of Fine Arts
London’s Alternative MFA group will be texting updates to form part of a piece at an art exhibition in Margate where they will be read out through megaphones
At the same time as the march
UK Uncut: ‘Occupy for the Alternative’
* 2pm – UK Uncut groups from across the country will target banks and shops on Oxford Street
* 3.30pm – UK Uncut will announce and occupy a secret target – and aim to stay for as long as possible
Alternative, autonomous rally
Hyde Park – at the fountain next to Park Lane hosted by IWW, 15:30 – 18:30
After the march
Turn Trafalgar Square into Tahrir Square
A call has gone out for an occupation of Trafalgar Square for 24 hours after the march. More info here. and http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=198808963474182
Occupy Hyde Park
A call out has also been made to occupy Hyde Park after the march. Bring your camping stuff. More info here.
Earth Hour
WWF’s ‘Earth Hour’ will be at 8.30 . More information here
Hackney Social
Hackney Alliance to Defend Public Services will have a fundraiser after the march at 8pm at Victoria Dalston, E8 3AS. More details here.
TSSA Social
There will be a post-march social event for TSSA members at The Square Tavern in Tolmers Square (at the junction of Euston St and North Gower St, near Walkden House). There will be a range of food and light refreshments available from 16:00 hours.
Other things going on
Samba bands including Rhythms of Resistance, people with sock puppets, a book bloc, trade union bands, the bigger society sound system and the Green and Black Cross legal observers (Green and Black Cross Legal Observers will wear orange, as distinct from the Liberty Legal observers who are working with the police and will wear Green).
What’s your plan?
What ever you do, download the bust card and bring it with you from www.ldmg.org.uk
http://politicaldynamite.com/2011/03/26-march-whats-your-plan/
UWE students campaign for a Palestinian student to study at UWE
24-03-2011 17:22
Students at the University of the West of England are campaigning to bring a Palestinian student, currently suffering at the hands of Israels crippling blockade of The Gaza Strip, to come and study at the UWE.In January of 2009 a group of around 30 students staged an occupation in the University of the West of England in protest against Israel’s deadly "operation cast led" attack on the Gaza strip, which claimed over 1400 lives and left many others injured, homeless and malnourished. The students occupied the space for 3 nights and presented the university with a list of demands, the most significant of which was that the university provide fully paid scholarships for Palestinian students in Gaza to study at the University of the West of England. Two years on, the University has agreed to fund one fully paid scholarship at the cost of around £45,000 a year. However this is on the condition that the donors raise the first £5,000 pounds . Once this has been achieved, the university will fund a fully paid scholarship for a Palestinian currently living in the Gaza strip. This will profoundly change the life of someone currently suffering at the hands of Israel’s crippling blockade of Gaza.
Students at UWE are now in the process of raising £5,000. They aim is to raise the money by June this year, this would allow a prospective student from Gaza to start studying as early as September 2011. In order to raise this money the students have decided they need to look outside the university for private donors. So far the students have managed to raise £2,336, with Viva Palestina donating £2,000 towards the cause.
“We aspire to champion the real people behind the politics who are in intolerable situations and experiencing unimaginable suffering. The Conflict Zone Bursary fund has been set up in order to offer these people a way out. We hope the project will run annually to create lasting legacy, offering scholarships to students from war torn countries.” – Yazan Abu-Jbara, UWE student and member of the Conflict Zone Bursary team.
Official Statement from UWE:
The conflict zone bursary fund has been set up in order to offer the real people behind the politics, who are in intolerable situations and experiencing unimaginable suffering, a way out. This charitable project aims to bring the students and the university together in a joint effort to raise money in order to make this wonderful idea become a reality.
As the Bursary Fund was set up in response to student support for the people of the Gaza strip, the first scholarship will be directed toward a student from that area.
The University of the West of England has agreed to provide a comprehensive scholarship for a student to come and study at UWE starting in September 2011. The total cost for this scholarship is estimated to be £45,000 which includes fees, maintenance, flights, orientation, and other expenses. However, we the donors, have to come up with the first £5,000. Therefore, we urge you to donate generously towards this noble humanitarian cause in order to profoundly transform an individual’s life.
To donate, find out more or track progress of the student campaign, visit the campaign website, through the link provided or alternatively, email Joe Odell at odell88@hotmail.com
Northern Ireland Culture Minister Calls for a Sympathetic Voice for Israel
24-03-2011 17:15
Northern Ireland Arts and Culture Minister Nelson McCausland has in the name of balance and anti-discrimination called for a sympathetic voice for Israel at the Belfast Festival at Queens. Maybe he should think again.Palestine Today 03 24 2011
24-03-2011 16:53
UCU Strikes in Bradford, Occupation in Manchester
24-03-2011 16:23
Staff at both the University of Bradford and Bradford college formed a picket line on the main entrances to both campuses today, Thursday 24th March, as a national strike called by the University and College Union (UCU) entered a third successive day
Also, across the Penines, students have been in occupation at the University of Manchesters Roscoe Lecture theatre for over a month now and are preparing to wind down the occupation in order to join in with the March for the alternative actions that will be happening in London this Saturday, March 26th.
Pics: #UCUstrike march to Downing Street
24-03-2011 16:22
Hundreds of striking UCU union members and people protesting against the cuts marched through london from LSE to Downing Street where a rally was held with speakers including UCU President Alan Whittaker. On the march much of the converstaion was about the huge TUC demonstration planned for Saturday.
For ongoing strike coverage see:
http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5395
All out for March 26th...
Shut Guantánamo / Free Shaker / Free Bradley Manning demo
24-03-2011 15:48
Friday 1 April, 12-1pm and 1.15-2.15pm:
12-1pm: US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE (nearest tube: Bond Street/Marble Arch)
1.15-2.15pm: Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park, W1 (nearest tube: Marble Arch)
Big Society HQ now open!
24-03-2011 15:34
FIRST MEETING 8PM
61 CURZON STREET, WESTMINSTER (NR. MAYFAIR) W1J 8PD
THIS SPACE IS NOW BEING SQUATTED AS A CONVERGENCE CENTRE.
THE SPACE IS NON-AFFILIATED AND WELCOMES ALL ACTIVISTS GROUPS (AS LONG AS THEY ADHERE TO THE ‘SAFER SPACES’ POLICY).
3 MINS WALK FROM GREEN PARK TUBE STATION.
There’s loads of space to SLEEP and have MEETINGS – bring your own sleeping stuff.
There’s a designated quiet chill out space.
FOOD? Bring some & there might be an activist kitchen.
PICS Preparing for #ucustrike march from lse
24-03-2011 14:22
1.30pm houghton street
solidarity with strikers - all out for march 26th
prepare for Saturday - Guide to Public Order Situations
24-03-2011 13:38
links to the Guide, which is useful for being prepared for big demos and protests. Don't let the police outwit us!Download this flyer for distribution on the demo
24-03-2011 12:32
http://www.battleofbritainmarch26.org/march26/Flier.html
Switch your lights ON for Earth Hour!
24-03-2011 11:14
Another "Bankers' Budget" From George Osborne
24-03-2011 10:08
G4S involved in Israeli prisons and illegal settlements
24-03-2011 08:37
Helen Caldicott on Japan Nuke Disaster
24-03-2011 05:19
Anti cuts budget demo on Whitehall
24-03-2011 00:27
Following on from the previous action and protests on budget day, up to 130 people marched down Whitehall to protest against the cuts.
The demo had been called by the Coalition of Resistance, and the Right to Work campaign. They were joined by CND and others protesting the UK's involvement in coalition air strikes in Libya.
Sukey slip closer into the arms of the Met
24-03-2011 00:21
Sukey have changed their their Warning To Idiots page to come across a little more, er user friendly.