As is now traditional for London student marches, it started at the University of London Union in Malet Street, from 12 noon. The Samba band made its way round the corner from SOAS. Several dozen black-clad troublemakers found each other and formed a bloc near the front, just behind a line of students carrying "book bloc" shields. There were banners and placards from student unions across the country, from organisers NCAFC (National Coalition against fees and cuts) and some other newer student groupings, from the green and socialist parties, as well of course as many unaffiliated students with all kinds of home-made paraphernalia. Notably lacking were the SWP (Socialist Workers Party): not a single paper-seller from the disgraced trotskyist-rape-apologist outfit in sight, although a few placards with their logo were spotted in people's hands.

The demo moved off in a nice cloud of red flare smoke, a stimulating whiff of gunpowder in the air. Numbers kept building up as it snaked through Bloomsbury, so the NCAFC's 10,000 figure may not be an exaggeration.

Things kept tame until after the crowd reached the announced destination, Parliament Square. People soon rushed to pull down the temporary fencing and take the square. These barriers have been up for some months now, along with patrols of "heritage wardens", aimed to stop peace campaigners and Occupy types from forming a new protest camp. So the square is now a recurring flashpoint for low-scale battles with Metropolitan police TSG riot cops. On November 5 there were some clashes here at the Anonymous "Million Mask March". And just before the demo yesterday morning, the Met put out newspaper articles with CCTV wanted posters of peoples' faces from that night, presumably timed as some kind of warning to the students.

Ultimately, though, there's not much to do on this cold bit of grass outside the mother of all parliaments. And it's basically enemy territory, a nice open space where uniformed bully boys can whack and kettle us with little trouble. Things got more interesting yesterday when groups started to leave the square, splintering off to find better targets in the streets nearby.

Amongst these was the ministry of BIS (business industry and skills) which got redecorated with paint bombs. The police had been hands-off through the march itself, staying much less visible than in their "total policing" walking kettle style on some other student demos in recent years. But they were ready for action, sending in charges of dozens of TSG riot cops with batons flying when the crowd became more lively. At BIS, they got in pretty quick, forming protective lines to block the front before any more serious damage was done.

Other locations visited were Tory Party HQ, Scotland Yard, Starbucks, and McDonalds. By this point TSG were around in numbers, and dished out a good few black eyes, bloody heads and other minor injuries, as they sent in snatch squads to make arrests. As in some of the 2010 demos, the crowd stayed mobile, avoiding kettles and moving on to new targets, but not doing very much when they got there.

NCAFC reported 11 arrests. All were later released without charge. There was solid support for the arrestees with a big crowd waiting for them outside Belgravia copshop.

NUS: scabs, and grasses too

The National Union of Students (also known as Labour party apparatchik apprenticeship scheme), had initially voted to support the demo, then pulled out saying it was "unsafe". Apparently there wasn't proper "public liability insurance" or some such. Yesterday morning, NUS bureaucrats got to their HQ at 275 Greys Inn Road to find the front redecorated: tasteful baby blue paintbomb splotches, with the recurring motif "Scabs" in white letters.

Vice President Joe Vinson declared on facebook that he will "personally make sure that we pass all available evidence onto the police. All the perpetrators will achieve is a criminal record in the name of terrorising NUS staff. I hope they think it was worth it." He was widely condemned by other students on social media for ignoring the police violence to moan
about a bit of pain on his window. NUS: Not only Scabs, but grasses too.

Yesterday's demo was meant to be just the start of a renewed campaign for
free education. Student groups are now mobilising for a day of action with
school and university occupations and walkouts on December 3.