Following on from the call for an open assembly to discuss, propose and organise for the first round of co-ordinated strike actions on June 30th, over 100 people turned up and squeezed into the Marchmont Centre in Bloomsbury on Monday 23rd May. Public sector workers, parents, carers, workers, unemployed, teachers, precarious workers were joined by spanish students who had been, since May 15th, holding self-organised assemblies as part of a new international movement that has seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets occupying main squares across Spain and beyond against crippling austerity and raising unemployment.

The purpose of the meeting was to focus on the June 30th public sectors strikes and how those of us “officially” on strike can connect with the rest of the population, to generalise the strike as a day of action for all those fighting against the cuts and the wider austerity measures. There was a implicit understanding that we should be calling for people not to go to work in solidarity ( taking day off work, calling in sick..etc ) to enable a bigger participation on the various pickets, actions and demonstrations.

Hundreds of thousands of workers could be involved in strike action, from as many as four or five different unions including NUT, PCS, UCU and ATL, possibly involving over 800,000 workers fighting against pension reforms, an integral part of the coalition governments austerity measures.

A brief overview was given by a teacher at an FE college about the effect the pension reforms will have ( pay more for less ), understandable a growing anger is being felt by many in the public sector who have worked all their lives in the hope that they can live in dignity when they retire. All this is being threatened, consequences of which would not be felt on younger generations until its too late.

School students from secondary to FE colleges were also spoken about and the need to encourage walk outs from schools in solidarity with their teachers, which could link into more vibrant localised demonstrations in the morning. Individuals from NCAFC and EAN which were instrumental in calling demonstrations during the student rebellion in November/December 2010 were keen to follow this up so that students continue to be a key feature of this movement.

This first assembly reached consensus on the following:

To mobilise and support early morning pickets of striking workers

To organise local initiatives to link up pickets with marches between different sites.

To promote diverse forms of actions to publicise and circulate the struggles

To take these decisions forward, those in the meeting who live or worked in the same boroughs will be put in contact with each other and were encouraged to meet up and work within local anti-cuts campaigns who have already started to publicise the 30th. Already there are meetings being organised ( email june30action@gmail.com if you would like to get in contact with others in your area ).

The items we couldn't reach consensus on were felt to be important to continue discussing including ideas to call to participate on the main trade union demo in Central London - tentatively being organised by the PCS. Several suggestions to organise various feeder marches and possibly a mass action later on in the day against a specific target were also discussed. There were also proposals to hold on public assemblies, in similar fashion to the recent events in Spain, that could further open up inclusivity and participation than perhaps less engaging forms of actions. These ideas could be included as suggestions for local initiatives. An idea of an all night camp was also talked about. There was no consensus on us organising public assemblies or a camp – and there were concerns that such ideas had failed in the past due to police repression - but it is an idea that will be revisited in future meetings. Economic blockades/disruption were also discussed and there was a general support for the idea throughout the meeting as a possible forms of actions, no doubt this too will be revisited at the next assemblies.

There were a wide ranging participation from radical left, anarchist, autonomist and socialist tendencies as well as people from no “political position” at the meeting but the meeting itself was one of the most respectful, dynamic and inspirational meetings for a long time. We hope to continue with this spirit in the lead up to June 30th with the sole intention to generalise the strikes in London and across the UK, radicalising many more people into taking action for their future.

Next Assembly - 7pm Monday June 6th ( Bloomsbury / University venue tbc )

The next assembly will be held at 7pm Monday June 6th ( University venue tbc ) in a bigger venue. We encourage everyone interested, engaged and up for it to come down and get involved. We especially like more workers who will potentially be on strike ( bearing in mind that at this stage strike ballots have yet to be taken ) to attend and help us organise towards June 30th.

Please contact us if we may be able to help with childcare, if there is enough interest we will try to arrange a creche.

General contact email is: june30action@gmail.com

Subscribe to the announcements list by sending a blank email to:

j30strikeassembly-updates-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The protest and camp outside London's Spanish embasy that started almost a week ago grew in strenght during the weekend. On Friday night around 50 people set up camp, and on Saturday more people joined in to spend the night on the pavement opposite to the embassy. But it was during the day when the protest grew to several hundred, specially on Saturday when around 500 people joined in throughout the afternoon till well into the night.

Several working groups were formed and started to work on different aspects of the protest. These included logistics, communications & media, international, and art & action. The days were mostly spent in working groups meetings and plenary assemblies that discussed issues ranging from logistics and the future of the London protest, to people debating the characteristics and aims of this 'movement' both here in London and in Spain, as well as how it can be expanded beyond Spain. People from Italy and Portugal were present at the Sunday's assembly where they announced that people are starting to discuss plans for similar square occupations in their countries.

There was also time for spontaneous protest as people periodically gathered shouting "they (politicians) don't represent us!" whilst banging pots and pans. The bigger, loudest and more festive protest of the weekend was on Saturday night, with people improvising chants and slogans against politicians, representative democracy, bankers, political parties and demanding a system change.

On Sunday the plenary assembly decided to dismantle the camp until next weekend - starting on Friday 27th - but to continue the protest outside the embassy every day from 7 to 9pm, in solidarity with the camps in Madrid's Puerta del Sol [live webcam] and Barcelona's Plaça de Catalunya that announced they would continue for at least another week. During the daily protests this week there are plans for working groups meetings, workshops and further assemblies that  will decide on the shape of the protest for nesxt weekend as well as how to continue is 'movement' in London.

Here there are some photos from Sunday afternoon and evening ...

Related articles in London Indymedia:

• They all must go...
• A shout from Madrid

More information about the protests in London:

• Real Democracy London blog

More information about the square occupations in Spain:

• Puerta del Sol Occupation blog 
• 24h live webcam from Puerta del Sol
• Plaça Catalunya Occupation blog
• Video Gallery from Barcelona's La Tele
• Live feeds from Spain an across Europe

... people kept shouting last night outside the Spanish embassy in Belgravia. Since Wednesday 18th large crowds of mainly spaniards living in London are following a call to demonstrate and to express anger about the "political, economic, and social outlook which we see around us: corruption among politicians, businessmen, bankers, leaving us helpless, without voice."

On Friday 20th around 300 people showed up at Chesham Place for a 'pots & pans' protest, coinciding with hundreds of 'cacerolazo' protests called thorughout Spain as part of the 'Spanish Revolution' currently taking place all over the country. After the protest, a public assembly took place where, amongst other things, people debated the practicalities of setting up camp till Sunday 22nd. As a result, around 50 people spent the night outside the embassy, and there are plans for further demonstrations today Saturday and Tomorrow sunday [See Democracy London blog]

See pics of the London protest and read about the background story ...

What is all this about then?

Well, summing up the story began a few weeks ago when an anonymous call demanding 'True Democracy now!" went viral through social networking sites and twitter. The initial proposal was to take to the streets in as many Spanish towns and cities as possible on Sunday 15th of May, to express anger to the current  'democratic system' that puts the rule of the market above social needs and rights.

Currently in Spain there's 21% unemployment, which means that over 5 million people are out of work, 40% of which are young people. This, together with the massive 'austerity measures that Spanish government is imposing to the country affecting employment laws, cuts in public pensions and services, privatisation, and precarity in almost all aspects of people's lives,  is fast creating a general unrest that eventually exploded in  hugely successful demonstrations on over 50 Spanish cities last Sunday 15th.

The huge demonstrations in Madrid and Barcelona ended in  the occupations of Puerta del Sol and Plaça de Catalunya squares respectively. In both cities a few hundred people set up public assemblies that decided to set up camps immediately. In Madrid the camp was evicted by police the very first night whilst in Barcelona it was allowed to stay. The assembly of Madrid immediately called for another occupation of the central square for Monday night, and in the event, thousands of people turned up re-taking the square and setting up infrastructure for a long lasting protest. The camp in Barcelona was not evicted and by Monday night it also grow to thousands of people setting up kitchens, sleeping areas, debating forums, communications infrastructure and so on. By Tuesday, many more Spanish cities and towns started to mobilise too setting up their own protests, assemblies and camps, turning the spontaneous citizen mobilisation into something resembling and uprising. 

As a background to all this, there are the local elections taking place this Sunday all over Spain, together with, elections in some regional parliaments. It is for this reason why many of the communiques and manifestos coming out from the different camps talk about the need to go beyond parliamentary 'democracy' and into grass-roots and directly participatory ways of organising. It is for this reason that there's a general call from all the occupied squares to not vote on Sunday and to organise in local assemblies instead.

The main two camps in Madrid and barcelona are growing in numbers and strength (see live webcam from Madrid's Puerta del Sol) even though the protests are currently declared illegal since midnight Friday, due to the fact that Saturday is officially the "reflection day' during elections and as a result all public political expressions are banned by law. Madrid's local government had announced that they would not allow the camp to go into the weekend provoking fears of repression and the eviction of the camp, but the response was to gather in mass at Puerta del Sol and at midnight last night there where over 15,000 people occupying the square. The evictions has therefore not happened, and it now seems the camp will be allowed to stay, mainly due tothe fact that any violent eviction would play very badly in the hands of all parties seeking to get elected on Sunday.

The protests and occupations are due to continue till this Sunday (the election day), but the same as in the London's protest, there are now  many calls to turn them indefinite. It is yet not clear how this protest will continue and what it will turn into, nor whether this new 'movement' made of a new anonimous subject will actually become such a movement. At the moment it seems that it is a clear expression of anger, disgust and defiance to the current status quo, but whether this general unrest will actually politize itself it is still to be seen. What is clear though is that it intrinsically carries a lot of potential.

Note: solidarity protests have been called throughout Europe for today, including in Italy, Germany, Portugal, France and Belgium

===============================
Communique from Real Democracy in Manchester

Fake democracies all across Europe are in great danger because the Revolution has just started. This is a time for action, for rising up together and changing the system.

Europe is suffering from political regimes that set the citizens aside and lack from a plural representation and by doing so, they become false democracies that do not represent the wishes, aspirations and needs of men and women of each country.

They only consider our vote as a mean to reach the power and, as soon as they get it, they forget that their duty is to represent the people. It is then when, as it happened in Spain and other European countries, they give way to the market and banking dictates.
Because of this, our intention is to change the current system, this miscalled democracy, into a new one where the citizenship play a significant role in political decisions via assemblies and other means of participation, with a freer communication media available to them and with a true separation of powers. A democracy to serve the people instead of the markets.

We moved from "I have a dream" to the "We have a dream". We walk together in this with other people from the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Holland and many other European countries. What happens in London, Madrid, Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam... is also happening in other cities and thus we all want to get together under this revolution.

A revolution with the only labels of participation, freedom and no violence. Without flags or political parties; just with the people.  With honest men and women who have risen up to change a system that rejects them, a world that does not work at all. Because in the end, we are world citizens tired of enduring this situation.

People from Manchester: http://realdemocracymanchester.blogspot.com

The entirely peaceful student occupation of the Graduate Centre on the Holloway Road was raided tonight by 16 thugs, including private security guards, 10 bailiffs, 4 police officers and only ONE London Met Security guard, John Hunt.

They forced entry to deliver a high court injunction at about 11.55pm, which was ordered against 5 named individuals and Persons Unknown. It required the defendants to cease their current trespass, or they would be in breach of court and “could be arrested or imprisoned”.

The students had no time to prepare their defence, read the paperwork OR call lawyers. This is a disgrace and shows Malcolm Gillies (VC) is just as much of a thug as the sexist and racist individuals he has placed inside and outside the occupation, at an alleged cost of £35,000.

The eviction came as a surprise, as Malcolm Gillies had agreed to meet the students tomorrow morning at 9.30am to begin a dialogue about their futures. Clearly this was all false information and proves that his view of ‘consultation’ is that it is worthless. Tonight’s events illustrate how Gillies continues to cowardly refuse to communicate, even though his plans will devastate hundreds of lives.

Worried that they were about to be arrested, the students decided to leave the occupation peacefully, and now face having to find their ways home when public transport is closed.

The fight for our futures is now hanging in the balance. Please join us for a mass lobby of the Board of Governors on Wednesday at 4.30pm in Moorgate, to make a public protest to save London Met, and call for the resignation of Malcolm Gillies. This is disgraceful behaviour and such actions by Management should not be acceptable in a University environment.

http://wearelondonmet.wordpress.com/

after the remains of the irish government gave approval last week for the shell high-pressure gas pipeline and refinery in county mayo, activists have been staging blockades, actions and protests against shell in solidarity with the residents and activists of rossport. in london, tonight's garage blockade was also called as a memorial to long-time climate activist val jones, who lost a long struggle against a debilitating disease just one year ago.

last week, the irish government gave final approval for the shell high pressure raw gas pipeline which is being built in a beautiful area of county mayo in north-west ireland. shell is intending to use the pipeline to pump ashore unrefined gas to an onshore refinery.

the "corrib" gas field was initially discovered in 1996, and after exploratory drilling, the project began in earnest in 2003 when shell purchased an area of forest land from the irish forestry agency, and they began building the refinery in 2005.

1200 local residents are directly affected by the site and the pipeline and the overwhelming majority are against the project in its current form and do not believe that alternatives have been properly considered.

over the years, there has been a strong resistance movement against the current project, and after an injunction was instituted in 2005 to prevent residents from obstructing the construction of the pipeline, 5 men from rossport were imprisoned for ignoring the injuction and trying to protect their own land.

shell continued to build the pipeline and also to flout health and safety guidelines and building consents. while local drinking water regularly showed aluminium levels that were way outside safety limits, shell actually had to dismantle 3km of pipeline after ministry officials discovered serious breaches.

the 'rossport 5' were relased after a three month long campaign of civil disobedience, direct actions, and worldwide protests and solidarity actions, but the gardai (irish police force) grew more violent in their treatment of protestors.

in november 2006, many locals were injured in police baton charges to break a blockade. the gardai boasted of their 'no arrest' tactics, and continued their campaign of intimidation, injuring locals in baton charges, and attacking protestors who were trying to stop the illegal construction of shell portacabins on their own land.

as the pipeline was laid in broadhaven bay, protestors regularly took to the water, and many were arrested in various actions at sea.

the operation was held up for a year after pipe-laying equipment became damaged, and the resistance has continued strongly since then, despite many arrests. the project is now due to open in 2012 or 2013, several years behind schedule. as well as legal oppression, there was a parallel campaign of unlawful intimidation, with the gardai taking knives to protestors' inflatable boats, and masked men attacking campaigners and even hospitalising one local activist in the middle of the night.

the campaign focusses on the fact that the pipeline is an experimental project, untried elswhere in the world, with raw unprocessed gas carried at extremely high pressure, first under the sea-bed, and then in a pipeline across a peat bog known for its instability. the gas will include a corrosive mixture of chemicals, but will not contain the tell-tale gas odour which is added at the refinery. the pipeline cuts across an area of amazing scenic beauty and which is a world-recognised area of specific scientific interest. waste water from the refinery will flow into carrowmore lake, a source of water supplying 10,000 people. water samples have already shown massively increased and illegal levels of aluminium.

after last week's announcement by the government, which incidentally now comprises only three cabinet ministers, as the rest have resigned over the economic turmoil, local resistance groups have called for a week of solidarity protests against shell, and in london this evening, the old street shell garage was closed down by activists from 'london rising tide' and samba-activists 'rhythms of resistance'.

tonight's blockade was also a memorial to shell activist and long-time 'rhythms of resistance' member, val jones, who lost a long and hard-fought struggle against motor neurone disease just one year ago. among her many talents, val was an accomplished banner-maker, and her huge "danger - keep out - shell hell in operation" banner has featured prominently in many actions, including tonight's.

the old street garage is a very busy one, normally with several vehicles filling up or queueing throughout a typical weekday evening. the activists took over its forecourt at about 7.30 this evening, unfurling val's huge banner, as well as a "shell devastates communities" banner brought over by rossport activists, and a simple "closed" banner across the main entrance. meanwhile the samba band attracted attention and lifted spirits, while hundreds of leaflets were handed out to passers-by.

the leaflets highlighted other issues as well as rossport: the devastating tar sands developments in alberta, canada; the continuing environmental destruction of the niger delta, along with corruption, human rights abuses, and of course the murder of activist ken saro-wiwa; and finally the connection to runaway climate change.

garage staff called police, who turned up with four cars and a van after about 25 minutes. after taking stock of the protest, they invoked 'obstruction of the highway' and threatened arrest if activists continued to block the access to the garage.

ironically, just as activists moved away from the entrance, a delivery tanker turned up and staff put out bollards while the delivery was made, rather taking the wind out of the police operation. indeed, activists helped get the message of the bollards across by once again holding the 'closed' banner across the entrance, this time apparently not causing an obstruction. police used a modern polaroid type camera to photograph the protestors before withdrawing, leaving just one car to keep an eye on things.

by chance, comedy activist mark thomas then walked past, on his way from a fund-raising gig. he was delighted to have stumbled on the protest and wished them well. he was particularly amused by the timely arrival of the tanker and disappeared off into the night with a happy smirk on his face.

as the garage reopened, the two police who had been left on guard once again insisted that the entrance be cleared, and after some slow-motion compliance, the protestors reached a decision to finish the action and leave together.

if you want to know more about rossport, see www.shelltosea.com
for tar sands info, see www.no-tar-sands.org
for info on the niger delta, see remembersarowiwa.com
london rising tide can be found at londonrisingtide.org.uk
and rhythms of resistance have a website at www.rhythmsofresistance.co.uk

Inspired by and in solidarity with the Italian protesters in Rome, and all those fighting austerity cuts

The Book Bloc joins the student and public sector workers' protest to affirm and defend what is under attack: Our universities and public libraries, literacy, thought, culture and jobs. In the past few weeks our attempts to do so peacefully have been met by police with batons, riot shields and horses. These are not isolated incidents of brutality but part of a system of institutional violence. By bringing books into the streets we are drawing attention to the violence at the heart of the neo-liberal ideology of the Con-Dem government.

When the police kettle us, baton us or charge us we will not only see police violence against individuals but the state's violence against free thought, expression and education.

Books are our tools – we teach with them, we learn with them, we play with them, we create with them, we make love with them and, sometimes, we must fight with them.
Book Bloc

as the light faded in trafalgar square, the crowd tested two or three of the exits and more fighting broke out. at one point, police in the north-west corner made a charge into an angry crowd, and in the process a young woman was knocked unconscious. police refused to allow medics in, claiming they feared for their officers safety, even though students offered to stand well back. arguments went on for some time while the woman laid there, until eventually a group of police and medics moved forward, picked her up (without a brace or any check on her condition) and ran her behind police lines.

NB if you didn't realise, you can see larger versions of pics on indymedia london by clicking on them

some petty pilfering at tescos gave the police the excuse to close it down, and some fighting occured and a window was damaged. as riot police flooded that area, one particular inspector, pictured, lashed out at someone simply because they were "too close" (not having much room to move back because of others behind him). again, there was a serious injury as the protestor fell back and was wounded. some people screamed for medics and then carried the wounded man to the police line, also shouting at the inspector that he had done this.

this police operation eventually stood down. during it, press were not allowed in or out of cordons even with press cards.

riot police then removed protestors from the plinths, sometimes aggressively, and making at least two arrests. this large group of police guarding the plinth were taunted by the crowd who shouted "you're kettled".

again, these police withdrew, but not for long.

suddenly, hundreds of police charged across the square in full riot gear from several directions. backed up by mounted police, they formed an impenetrable kettle at the entrance to the strand, capturing probably around a couple of hundred protestors (and passers-by).

there were certainly far more police than there were students, but the students remained unfazed, shouting slogans, doing the hokey-cokey, singing carols, or just sitting under the heavy sleet and snow.

police made occasional snatches to arrest individuals alleged to have been involve in criminal damage.

i was disturbed once again (having seen a medic using fire extinguishers in the faces of protestors last week) to see medics acting like bully boys. one completely lost control at someone outside the kettle who he said was standing too  close to him. other officers had to actually restrain the medic to stop him attacking the by-stander!

over the next couple of hours, police began allowing people to leave one at a time.

customarily, kettles are employed when a section 60 has been enforced, and as people leave, they are photographed with any face-coverings removed, and they can be searched for any offensive weapons, although police often use the search as an excuse to go through any identifying documents even though strictly this is not allowed in law. however, there is no legal requirement to provide a name and address.

this evening though, police used a new technique. as each person was escorted out, they were placed in front of one of three forward intelligence teams, who interviewed them in front a bright light and video camera. they were told they were being arrested for breach of the peace, and that they therefore had to give their name and address. some were loaded into vans - others were, after giving all their details and being photographed and videoed from every angle, told they were now de-arrested and allowed to leave - many of these were under-18.

this is a worrying mass addition to the police database of young people not guilty or suspected of any crime, but simply protesting about ideological and political education cuts by an undemocratic and unelected government.

i aslo saw a line of police writing up their note-books and openly chatting and collaborating while doing so.

mainstream media are quoting around 150 arrests, although i think this includes the mock and temporary arrests as people left the kettle. however, dozens were taken away in vans and there had been several arrests earlier during the course of the day.

police forced students to change their plans quickly this afternoon. although organisers had furnished and agreed the route of their march from trafalgar square to parliament, within minutes of the start, police began attempting a kettle of peaceful demonstrators. in response, students changed their plans and ran around central london while police tried to contain them. eventually the focus was back at trafalgar square.

both UCL occupation and NCAFC (national campaign against funding cuts) have released statements condemning police actions at the very start of today's protests.

the original plan was to rally at trafalgar square, and then march to parliament square. police had been informed of this plan and according to the statements, agreement had been reached. however, within minutes of the rally beginning, police moved in to try to kettle the protest in trafalgar square, and not wanting to be held in freezing and wet conditions like the week before, the students quickly escaped and ran through st james' park.

groups split off, and while some arrived in parliament square, they soon saw that the square was like some sort of military zone, and barriers had been erected to keep them well away from parliament, so they headed off for a jaunt round london.

i followed one group through st james park, where i met MP john mcdonnell, who told me he thought indymedia was "brilliant".

the students i was with, made it up to oxford circus, but i heard others went via the mall with some serious skirmishes with police, and past buckingham palace and hyde park. another group of more than a thousand were seen heading along the embankment towards the city.

at oxford circus, several hundred people blocked the junction and danced to samba, but as police arrived and tried to contain the crowd, skirmishes again broke out as students rushed to escape a kettle, and some police lashed out at them. one young man was brutally arrested on regent street by members of the TSG.

by keeping to back streets and splitting up further, this group eventually made it down to trafalgar square which seemed to have become a focal point for the protest after all.

thousands of students stood on nelson's plinth, and milled aound the square, while police built up huge numbers at every road exit and brought central london to a halt.

a well-prepared group of protestors erected a small marquee tent and served hot food, while a sound sytem and a samba band provided music.

more than 1300 people came from all over the country to yesterday's COALITION OF RESISTANCE (CoR) conference at the camden centre. it is clear that students have kick-started a game-changing new era in british politics and there is a real sense that the cuts can be defeated and a new order may just be possible. my only reservations are about the inevitable manouevreings of the old left who hope to gain power and control out of the current troubles. i offer a report on the parts of the conference i saw, and in my comment at the end, a few thoughts and observations about the role of anarchism in this movement.

INTRODUCTION

the conference was so over-subscribed that organisers were caught out, and contingency plans had to be hurriedly put together to cope with the massive attendance.

the main hall was overflowing for the original opening plenary, with addresses from politicians, union officials. students, and others. as the situation became untenable, some of the speakers agreed to address groups in other rooms and in the school opposite the camden centre.

YOUTH, STUDENTS & EDUCATION WORKSHOP

i attended the 'youth, students and education' workshop, which was one of six taking place in various parts of the two buildings.

after introductions, the workshop was addressed first by 'kieran' a 6th form student from westminster kingsway college. he told us he felt emancipated by last wednesday's protest, despite being kettled for hours in the cold by police. the experience had broken down many misconceptions about protests for him, and he realised that protest was not just for peaceniks, eccentrics, single-issue groups, or indeed anarchists.

he spoke about the importance of the education maintenance allowance (EMA) which the government intends to scrap. this allowance helps under-privileged people to attend courses because it provides help for fares and lunch money. he defended the right to protest in any way necessary, and spoke of the violence of the tory cuts on the lives of the poorest and dispossessed.

he told us how students had suddenly become very politically engaged, and told of how councillors had been invited to a meeting at the college and that 120 students turned up. also that students were making links with unions and how he had accompanied a group of students on a visit to speak to train drivers at euston.

finally, he acknowledged the role of new media like facebook and twitter in the planning and organisation of effectively leaderless protests, something which the authorities were finding hard to keep up with.

next on the mic was alex kenny, speaking for the 'socialist teachers alliance'. he admired the fact that the students had lit a beacon and had exploded the myth that they were apolitical.

he also spoke with deep concern about the way that michael gove had used seldom-used and undemocratic parliamentary processes to avoid all discussion of his announcement to allow schools to break away from councils and be set up by almost anyone. this, alex warned, will deepen privatisation of education and destroy local authority influence. he said that this is not just a fight about fees, or about the accountability of the new 'academies', but that all these issues and more are linked. he described it as a capitalist-led assault on education, because an idle but well-educated population is a dangerous one to the rich and powerful.

jean-baptiste tondu spoke about the french student struggle and talked of the importance of solidarity, not just between students internationally, but also between students, unions, workers and the unemployed. he made the point that student occupations don't directly affect the economy (although he forgot to mention the sometimes acute problem to the personal economy of precarity-paid part-time teaching staff), but that worker's strikes and occupations do.

'barnaby' then spoke as a school student against the cuts. he was an inspiration - clearly from a privileged background and a pupil at the 'westminster school', he had a great grasp of oratory, and an even clearer analysis of the current system. he was funny too, speaking of the kettled protests last week and telling us he'd learnt what a university education was for - "to stop us from ending up in a police uniform". he also said that students in the kettle realised that they were not being held because of any threat to the public, but as a punishment designed to stop them from coming again, but that this realisation had given them an even greater motive to resist, organise and protest.

barnaby said that students were no longer a 'post-ideological generation', and that they were not just angry about fees and EMA but were joining the dots. as an example he told how hundreds of students had just signed up to a facebook group to support the RMT union.

the chair, 'clare solomon' from london NUS, and a socialist, then opened up the workshop to the floor, and a string of people came to the microphone suggesting proposals for the conference.

a student from leeds described that more than 3000 protestors had come out there on wednesday, and that 7 colleges or universities were occupied, a leeds-wide general assembly was forming to include students, unions and other groups, and that there was a plan to surround banks in future protests.

a young NUT member spoke of the new white paper on education and described it as devastating. she mentioned in horror the idea of bringing newly-returned troops from the front line into teaching "to instil discipline in the classroom"! she also said there was a big fight looming over teacher's pensions, and that it was so important to link and promote solidarity between students and teachers at this early stage.

this call was taken up by a UCU activist from yourkshire who said it was imperative that the teachers support and come out nationwide to back the students. he realised that teacher's unions were scared by thatcher's anti-union laws, but that if they all walk out together they would be safe and that the union executives must be given the confidence to let that happen.

another UCL/UCU activist took this point further, saying the moment was critical, that staff are inspired by the students but that more pressure was needed and so a walk-out by teachers was a priority. he called for the UCU and NUT executives to join the students.

the next speaker from the more revolutionary 'national campaign against fees cuts' (NCAFC) said that the student protests were a game changer, and that they were making history.

speaking about millbank, he pointed out that looking back, no-one nowadays condems the poll tax rioters, and that millbank would be seen in the same light in years to come. he warned of the manouevring of some left-wing groups, and called for general assemblies to be built from 'education assemblies' formed during a total education strike.

picking up on the condemnation of protestors, a further education lecturer spoke about the real violence of a million unemployed and said millbank was just but a drop compared to this.

a retired teacher from birmingham told of her years working with children in care. she said that the EMA was absolutely vital and was the only way in which any of them ever managed to go into further education and improve their prospects. she also warned that the new academies would take money away from local authority schools and accountability away from local control.

alex kenny then mentioned two more cuts proposed. first, that the guaranteed right of under five-year-olds to qualified teachers was being removed. and second, that the £160 million school sports fund was being completely cut. however, on a positive note he said that PE teachers, parents and sports celebrities had already built a 20,000 strong facebook group and that their lobbying and pressure was apparently splitting the cabinet over this issue.

returning once more to the importance and power of solidarity, a student from SOAS told how the university authorities had backed down from using bailiffs against the occupation once academics became involved to support the students, and staff had demanded negotiation rather than repression.

she also reported how students had formed assembies to make decisions about future protests and that anyone could get involved, with birkbeck college hosting a national student assembly this afternoon, and a london assembly from 5pm.

ALTERNATIVES TO THE CRISIS

after a short lunch break, six more workshops took place, and i decided to attend 'alternatives to the crisis' which took place in the school canteen over the road. this was a large room overflowing with a couple of hundred people.

the first speaker, ozlem onaran, a senior economics lecturer and researcher, spoke about the simple alternatives to cuts available to the government.

first, make those responsible for the crisis pay! tax the corporations, tax financial trading, and close tax loopholes.

next, stop the war, a huge drain on public economy for an ill-defined and unwinnable purpose.

finally, cut the trident nuclear weapon programme, a useless deterrent in a time of assymetrical warfare.

she spoke about the illegitimacy of the current debt, and how public finance could be freed from the burden of debt if the debt were audited openly, and then paid off by those that owed it. this process would inevitably lead to the bankcruptcy of the banks, so that they could be properly nationalised under the control of workers and local assemblies.

she also said we must look at the bigger picture. that continuing economic growth is simply an unsustainable premise from a climate justice and ecological viewpoint. without growth, people would have to lessen their working weeks, but that the liberated time could be put to use by involvement in truly democratic processes to decide openly how money could be freed up.

next on the mic was richard bremmer. he is the author of 'credit crunch - the crisis is capitalism'. he described how as the rate of return goes down at the end of each economic cycle, the controllers find ways to destroy and shed the less productive parts of the system. this is what is happening in the current 'credit crunch'. his suggestion was that the only alternative to capitalism is communism. i kind of lost concentration for a while then.

the third speaker was john hilary from 'war on want'.

he told us that the idea that there is no alternative to cuts is in fact a huge media con. the cuts are a political and ideological choice, and in fact there are many and varied ways to ease the debt outside of the kneejerk keynesian paradigm.

as a first example, he gave us the estimated figures for lost, unpaid or missing corporation tax. the combination of tax avoidance, tax loopholes and havens, and the amounts simply owed but discounted by inland revenue (including the recent disclosures about vodaphone for instance), add up to a staggering £120 billion. just half that amount would completley plug the current crisis.

on the subject of tax havens he pointed out that a large proportion of them are british dependencies.

however, instead of tackling this huge corporate avoidance of tax, the current government is actually closing tax offices as part of the cuts.

again, the meeting was opened up to the floor, but while a lot of good points were made, there seemed to be an unchallenged consensus that the 'only alternative' is socialism or communism. i got a little depressed by this having read 'animal farm', and went off for a cup of fairtrade coffee.

FINAL SESSION, NOMINATIONS, DECLARATION & CLOSING SPEECHES

the final session brought everyone back into the main hall, which was packed to overflowing, with people left standing in the two large balconies as well as in the main downstairs area.

paul mackney (a retired teacher's union leader and socialist labour activist) announced that there had been 122 nominations for the coalition of resistance national council, and andrew burgin (a socialist bookseller and prominent figure in the 'stop the war coalition') added that 37% of the nominees were women. he said that the coalition's 'declaration of purpose' had had dozens of suggested amendments, but rather than go through them all that afternoon, he asked the floor to remit them and trust the steering committee to consider them all in due course.

the chair then announced tony benn (notorious socialist labourite and president of the 'stop the war coalition') the president of the coalition. perhaps i missed the vote for this, but whatever, it seemed to receive an overwhelmingly positive response and standing ovation for the 88 year old activist.

the coalition, while supporting the students' struggle in words, seems more concerned in building a mass movement leading to a national march next year on 26th march.

a pensions campaigner, dot gibson, said that the march should be against ALL cuts, reminding us that the labour party had consistently stated that some cuts were necessary.

she reminisced about how in 1945, the labour welfare programme arose form a desire not to return to pre-war unemployment, and offered a genuine hope of free education and health to all. she contrasted those times with now, and the fact that her grandchildren have no idea whether they will be able to get jobs or whether they will be able to afford a home.

she complained that while the welfare state was formed in a principle of universalism, it had always been compromised by the existence of a mixed economy, with as just one example, the pharmaceutical industry making vast profits from the health service. over the years, the private sector was always waiting in the wings to profit from or take over the public sector, and currently private companies have over £100 billion worth of contracts within public sector, directly profiting from public money.

next chris banbury (socialist worker, union steward, and 'right to work' campaigner) called for total unity. in an impassioned speech which got the hall cheering, he said the time for games was over, and he called for everyone to be on the streets next tuesday, but recognising the difficulties faced by unions given thatcher's laws, he suggested they do this in their lunchtime so they didn't get into trouble.

lee jasper ('black activist rising against cuts' BARAC) called the cuts a declaration of class war. with cuts to public services he predicted a rise in racism, with the EDL and NF already brushing up their beguiling arguments to blame immigrants for the pain. he called for us all to stand in anti-racist unity against the cuts.

alf filer (business lecturer and socialist) then asked for large donations of money for the coalition to continue its campaign. in a remarkably honest declaration of intent he said the coalition wanted to build a real alternative to the current political parties - he asked for notes rather than coins, and standing orders rather than one-off payments.

jeremy corbyn (labour socialist MP) referred to naomi klein's book 'the shock doctrine' which outlines the process of debt slavery applied in the third world, where welfare was destroyed and blanket privatisation installed, leading to tiny minorities of unfeasably rich people and vast numbers of dispossessed poor in abject conditions.

he compared that process to the methods used once again by the IMF, the world bank, and now including the european central bank, this time against european countries, starting with greece and ireland, and now the UK. he said that while the poorest are faced with swingeing cuts, money is being invested on a colossal scale in new nuclear weapons and military funding for unwinnable wars.

he spoke of the history of attempts by the central banks to apply the process in latin america, and noted that in the countries where the people fought back, some gains were made, resistance built, and progressive governments resulted.

he called on people to defend the absolute principles of welfare (free education and free healthcare).

he said there was a major debate on fees cuts this week in parliament, and a final vote before christmas, and he reported that parliament has been rattled by the scale and intensity of the students' fightback. he made the observation that if we could win on student fees, it would show the possibility of fighting and winning against ALL the cuts.

john rees (CoR founding member, socialist activist, and 'stop the war coalition' national officer) said he didn't want to be told by 'eton boys' that 'you can be a hairdresser, but you can't be an artist or a philosopher'. he commented that cameron had wanted 'the big society' - looking round the hall he said 'well this is it, and we're coming to get you'. he promised that the colaition would bring down this government.

rapper 'lowkey' then took the mic and supported corbyn's observations about the 'shock doctrine'. he suggested the current politicians who had received free education should all pay £9000 back for the free education they'd had.

on nick clegg's reversal of promises, he reminded us that before the election clegg had called for an arms embargo on israel, but that last week the liberal democrat had made a speech in which he said maybe he'd been wrong about israel. lowkey wanted to tie the struggle over cuts with the ongoing war in afghanistan and the problems in the middle east.

he ended with a quote from frederick douglas that "power concedes nothing without demand, so we must always demand demand demand demand demand".

kate hudson (CND) reminded us of the huge costs of nuclear programmes and asked in whose interests our economy is currently run. she asked whether it was for the majority who use it, or for the minority that run it.

tony benn (new president of CoR) spoke about how he remembered (he's 88 you know) the time when the welfare state was being built after the war. he described current cuts as possibly the biggest attack yet.

he reminded us of the principle of universality that inspired the welfare state, and of the importance of solidarity in the struggle. the role of the coalition, he said, was not just to resist, but also to educate.

he said that lies are told to excuse the dismantling of the welfare state, to turn the banker's crisis into a broader economic crisis, and to make working people pay for the mistakes and greed of the ruling classes.

he agreed with kate hudson that the first economy should be the dropping of the trident replacement, and he reminded us that in 1945, the highest tax level affecting the richest in a time of crisis was 95%. he said the country needed the money then, and it was fair that everyone should share the burden.

he finished by saying it was a great honour to be the president of the coalition and that he was at the coalition's disposal at all times.


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PERSONAL COMMENT ON THE CONFERENCE

so there we are, the birth of a new national movement.

at a time when we need people to come together to fight a government controlled by the evidently psychopathic interests of big business and financiers, i don't like to be unhelpfully cynical or suspicious, but after seeing a welcome, unexpected and possibly "game-changing" surge of resistance and activism from young people on city streets throughout the nation, i have some concerns about the appearance of the 'coalition of resistance' and its direction, structure, and motives.

so many of the organisers and speakers have unashamed affiliation with socialist worker roots, that their claim to be a broad alliance has to be questioned. this, along with their undisguised aspiration to bring down the government and seize power, does little to inspire me with confidence.

additionally, many of the leading lights are the same people who ran the 'stop the war coalition'. this organisation, despite poll-backing by a majority of the british people and a mobilisation of millions on the street, conspicuously failed to stop the war.

they have since steadily disempowered the british public with their traditional and soul-destroying tactics of 'A to B' marching, to the extent that recently only 3000 turned up to an anti-afghanistan war rally despite the fact that pollsters regularly find that upwards of 70% of the british public want the troops home.

their president, tony benn, who is now the president of the 'coalition of resistance', has privately admitted that he didn't push for a criminal investigation of blair et al, because one of the "al" might well be his own son, hilary. well, i guess that blood is thicker than justice.

i think the real problem with both coalitions was alluded to by chris banbury at the conference when he called  for a national stoppage next tuesday, but only in the lunch hour so as not to break any laws.

so why don't these socialists support civil disobedience?

the answer lies in their real agenda, a seizure of power within the current pseudo-democratic system, and the installation of a socialist government while leaving the structure of power and control in place.

if they were to advocate the civil disobedience that might be truly necessary in the face of the devastating declaration of ideological war that the con-dem government has instigated, then they would lose the establishment legitimacy that, in order to seize power, they need to retain.

having said that, i don't want this piece to come over as a typically futile indymedia 'more ideologically pure than thou' anarchist diatribe against the socialist worker party.

if you believe in the 'animal farm'/"whoever you vote for, the government gets in" critique of socialism, then now, more than ever is the moment for anarchists to engage with unions, students, pensioners, unemployed and under-privileged people and educate, inform and inspire. there was no reason why there could not have been an anarchist presence in every one of the workshops at this conference. the anarchists can't blame the socialists for their lack of engagement.

with so many new activists seeking solutions, inspiration and ideas, it is a shame to allow the same tired traditionalists to hijack and dampen the creative, passionate exuberance of the students and other street protestors. now is the time to get out there to student assemblies and anti-cuts groups and teach them about non-hierarchical co-operation, syndicalism, truly participatory democracy, and consensus.

the students want free education - get out there and give it to them!

Protestors against lack of British support for the Tamil people and the recent offensive by the Sri Lankan Government against them continue into a second day.

Anyone with information they believe may help clarify the circumstances surrounding his death should, as soon as possible, write a full statement and contact the legal team at Bindmans Solicitors on 020 7833 4433 and the Legal Monitoring groups present at the demonstrations. Information can also be sent to Indymedia London: imc-london@indymedia.org (this is a private email address).