Stop the Cuts - National Demonstration

I'm not sure I belive this. What would the SWP have been doing on the Isle of Dogs?

+1 (well, not that SWP, the other one!)

The SWP and their ANL style of anti-fascism had very little impact in deprived workign class areas if you compare them to the decades of street campaigning and confrontation by AFA, the Asian Youth Networks etc.

Anyway, usually it is the SWP (or any similar vanguardist socialists for that matter) who hijack genuinely powerful grassroots campaigns, turn them into recruiting platforms, alienate the majority, and ruin chances of success. (see, for e.g. Stop the War)

Protests can have an effect if they are combined with a) wide-scale support b) workplace and/or community organisation and campaigning and c) localised direct action / civil disobedience in workplaces and/or communities.

see, for e.g. the anti-Poll tax movement. This combined these different elements of popular politics (mostly, incidentally, on a broadly socialistic class politics but largely independent of, or bigger than, particular parties). The Poll Tax thing was so powerful because it was largely independent, broad-based, well-organised, massive, and fucking angry.

This UCU/NUS protest may have some impact, but it would have to be the catalyst for much, much bigger movements with much more sophisticated and varied tactics, less top-down control by largely self-appointed leaders, and a lorry load of passion.

Frankly, i'm not convinced it will have an effect. Students are usually happy to turn up to protests but when it comes to taking control of their own struggles and developing campaigns and alternatives then they often falter. (Speaking as someone who was a student for 8 years and now teaches students!)

I will be on the