The labour party spring conference in Manchester was the occasion for some notably creative political dissent. On the eve of conference some dissidents from the UHC Collective appeared outside the conference centre in a manner that echoed Mao's persecution and humiliation of dissidents during China's cultural revolution. 10,000 copies of a spoof newspaper - The Manchester Evening Newt - were printed and distributed, and a labour party hoarding was also subvertised
.Some decidedly random characters embarked on a 'March for Capitalism' until they were eventually jumped by GMP. The more traditional fare of march and rally attracted around 1,500 protesters, who also got to witness the symbolic toppling of a statue of Tony Blair.
For the duration of the conference the area surrounding the GMEX conference centre was completely shut down. There was a massive police and security presence 24 hours a day from Thursday night onwards, including 2-4 police carrying pistols and sub-machine guns.
