The astute observer will notice that the flag here is not the standard Union Jack, which is shorter and wider. This is the 3:5 variant - used by the British Army as a war emblem. We chose it because many consider this a war - a war of words and protests instead of bombs and bullets, but a war nonetheless. Battle of Britain: UK Student and anti-austerity Protests and Riots Where is this happening? Largest Protests: London Many of the protestors, particularly the students, are indeed fighting. For many of the students, they are fighting to be able to afford their education. Others are fighting for their jobs, for social services, and for their children. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales; UK is Great Britain plus nearby Northern Ireland. The British islands include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands off France; the British Isles include the rest of Ireland as well. The largest protests have been in London, drawing up to half a million people. Smaller regional protests have been in Hull (NE of London), Glasgow (Scotland), and Manchester (NW of London) And Now For Something Completely Different Britain's politics are different from the US. They have developed a roughly 3-party system (more flexible than the US), and like most of Europe they're somewhat more liberal than in the US Conservatives (aka Tories): equal to US moderate-centrist republicans Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems): equal to most US democrats 3 main political parties: 1. Conservatives (conservative) 2. Liberal Democrats (centrist) 3. Labour (liberal) May 2010: Conservatives + Lib Dems = Con Dems Coalition government Labour: democratic-socialist party; equal to the most liberal US politicians In May 2010, after an election with no clear majority, the Tories and Lib Dems formed the Con Dems - a coalition government. They are socially centrist and economically conservative
What is austerity? Measures taken to reduce government debt during financial hard times Late 2010: massive cuts to education budget; tuition increases Early 2011: massive (300k people) government layoffs, elimination of many social programs What are the reactions to austerity? Although most Britons agree that action is needed to reduce the debt and balance the budget, few agree with the proposed spending cuts. Political backlash against the Con Dems has been strong. 55% of Britons support some spending cuts; 32% do not Much of the anger is focused on major banks; one bank paid less than 1% taxes on profits, when the tax rates for banks is 27%. BUT most think the proposed cuts are too much 52% support protestors; 31% do not Anger at tax-dodging banks What were the 2010 protests? The primary impetus for the 2010 student protests was the tripiling of public university tuition - from 3000 (USD 4800) to 9000 (USD 14500) per year. On 10 November, 50,000 students gathered in London. Hundreds occupied the headquarters of the Conservative party and lined its roof. Tripling of university tuition 50,000 students on 10 November Occupation of buildings Further protests Schoolchildren Despite riot police, further protests on 24 and 30 November and 9 December included hundreds to thousands of schoolchildren - as young as 9 - who left school to join the protests
Student protest, 9 December 2010 Why Did The Protests Turn Violent? 1000 riot police on 24 November On 24 November, mounted police charged protesters; many were injured, and one student was injured seriously by a police truncheon. Police cavalry charged protestors Small groups of protesters attacked police and government vans, set fires, and engaged in vandalism, but most protesters were peaceful. Small groups of protestors attacked police vans and set fires Between 4 protests, over 200 arrests and 50 injuries, but no deaths Interview with O'Brien O'Brien is a contact of David's from an internet forum. He was active in the 2010 student protests and agreed to be interviewed about his involvement and what he saw. "Don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe, learn your local laws so you can make sure you're not breaking them while you protest and occupy and whatever your political viewpoint, you should try and find a media source that offers a balanced opinion. After 225 police failed to control the 9 November protest and prevent building occupations, 1000+ riot police in full gear were deployed for further protests. "
What happened with the 2011 protests? The protests started small and grew. The Day of Rage turned somewhat violent. However, the March for the Alternative was peaceful and giant. started on 29 January 12 March: Day of Rage 26 March: March for the Alternative with 250,000 to 500,000 marchers in London Mostly peaceful; a few small violent factions Day of Rage, 12 March 2011 What comes next? Protests may not change what the government does in the short term But it will in the long term - protests show that Britons are not tolerant of massive spending cuts The protests in Britain will limit any austerity measures proposed in the US; no politician wants to cause riots
Bibliography Wikipedia contributors. "2010 UK student protests." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. Wikipedia contributors. "2011 United Kingdom anti-austerity protests." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. Adams, William Lee (26 March 2011). "Anti-Cuts "March for the Alternative" Draws 500,000 Protesters in London." Time Magazine. http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/26/anti-cuts-march-for-the-alternative-draws-500000protestors-in-london/ BBC / Reuters (27 March 2011). "Anti-austerity protesters descend on London." ABC News. http://www.abc. net.au/news/stories/2011/03/27/3174735.htm Selva, Meera and Edwards, Aaron (26 March 2011). "In London, 250,000 march to protest sharp cutbacks." Associated Press via the Seattle Times. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mobile/? type=story&id=2014609127&st_app=ip_news_lite Guardian reporters (26 March 2011). "March for the Alternative - Saturday 26 March Part 2." The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/blog/2011/mar/26/march-for-the-alternative-live-blog-updates O'Brien (last name only for anonymity). Personal Interview. 26 April 2011. All images are free-use images licenced under Creative Commons CC-BY-2.0 (or older versions) and/or Gnu Free Documentation Licence from Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org). Some images were originally posted under above free licences to Flickr and transferred via (legal) bot script. Some images were modified locally for smaller upload size; one image was modified to hide juvenile vandalism while showing the focus of the image.