There’s the inevitable breakaway marches, heading in the direction of Oxford Street, the City of London, or any other bastion of capitalism, where a dangerous cocktail of stupid, idealistic violence-junkies will meet a no-nonsense response from the Met.
That leads to a third ritual – the complaints about the media coverage, when a few dozen anarchists, smashing stuff up, will dominate the TV pictures, while the thousands of nurses, teachers and families with children marching along the official route are ignored. Underpinning all of this, is the greatest ritual of all – the debate about whether it makes any difference.
Simon Jenkins in the Guardian this morning runs through a list of demonstrations, from the Gordon Riots to Stop the War, pointing out that they had no impact. Not a bomb was banned, nor was hunting legalised, regardless of how many millions took to the street, writes the chairman of the National Trust.
Over at the Times, Phil Collins argues not only that demos are pointless, but also that they reinforce the impotence of opposition, a state, he argues, the Labour movement secretly enjoys. He reckons ‘it will be clear from every speech that the Labour movement hates the cuts. Almost as much as it loves them.’
Such professionalism cynicism should not drown out the enthusiasm and anger tomorrow. Unlike my friend Phil Collins, I cannot see into the hearts of every marcher and discern their true motives; but talking to many friends, mostly non-political ones, I detect a real anger and desire to stand up and be counted. It’s genuine, not synthetic, and it reaches well beyond the usual suspects, paper-sellers and political hacks. There’ll be quite a few coppers in plain clothes, not undercover, but joining in. There’s even a coach coming from Eastbourne, for heaven’s sake.
A demonstration reminds Labour that we are a movement not just a party, that we exist beyond the gothic walls of Westminster. It connects us to a wider public mood, and shows that politicians can articulate the views of ordinary people. There’s a sense of euphoria and exhilaration triggered by being part of a crowd of tens of thousands all heading in the same direction for the same purpose, like a cup final. I feel sorry for those that will stand on the other side of the crash-barriers, sneering, but unable to share in the solidarity. For many of us, who haven’t marched for a decade or more, there may be a twinge of nostalgia for the days of Scrap the Section, anti-apartheid and ‘grants not loans’.
Will it make a difference? Not in the immediate term. The government will not fall, nor the cuts be reversed. A demonstration must be part of a campaign, not an angry spasm. The route must lead, of course, not into to Hyde Park, but beyond to the ballot box, and the campaign to elect a Labour government.
Nicely argued, and well said. My experience is the same as yours – friends and colleagues just wanting to express their disgust. And send a sign that, OK they were pissed off about …. whatever, but they’re not taken in by the Tories/Lib Dems
Not a bomb was stopped which shows you how far Blair was willing to go to ensure his bank balance took precedence over what people said/wanted, hence now Labour and New labour are in opposition hopefully for the rest of my life
The right wing of the Labour party which is represented by ‘Progress’ waged war on union members for years in government. More jobs were outsourced by your hero Blair and other ‘Progress’ Ministers than even Thatcher managed. You now claim to support those who you spent years saling down the river in the interests of big business. Please spare us..
Paul, No-one in their right mnd wants to be in opposition, but then when you are opposing the same things when Labour is in power to when the Tories are in power then it makes no difference at all does it? It is all about the extent to which we make compromises once elected as opposed for power and money for its own sake. The public are less than happy with politicians for very good reason and they will need very good reasons to vote for us again. Thats because they are not imbeciles. That is why they hung Parliament without any collective organision because they deemed (for very good reason) that all the parties were no longer interested in them just the money and the power. As for the marches they should not be a waste of time if enough people take part, it is the politicians who are failing here and the Iraq War protest was not a democratic failure by those who took part, it was a political failure to represent the views of the British people. 2 million people ignored. Incredible in a modern age democray like ours that has the audacity to preach to others. Until a viable alternative is on offer that is not a Tory emulation Labour will remain in opposition, which is the home of non-viable parties that need to change.
the right wing ,the left wing ,the Hokey Cokey ring blah blah blah – times change ,people change,grow,develop The Party too ,its like the sea or something ,part of an eco system ,things happen here or there , on the surface or on the bed and society shifts ,so must the Party . We are not a religion ! there’s no dogma ,its about solutions and serving Society as best we can through its upheavals ,crises and opportunities .The bottom line is ideological of course isn’t it ,like is there god or not? well in this case there is ..Capitalism and we just have to get on with negotiating that until something better comes along.
wing