The fight against austerity driven cuts (or ‘savings’ as the state refers to them)
mobilised hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, saw the wide spread adoption of
direct action, and an unprecedented level of student militancy. It saw the largest strike
in a generation, the largest protest since the outbreak of the Iraq war, the most
widespread rioting in decades, and attacks on key government buildings on a scale not seen
since the poll tax riots. ---- It also failed. ---- It didn’t meet any of its key goals,
and whilst we should celebrate those small victories that were achieved, we also have to
recognise that we failed to harness or sustain the level of anger and activity that marked
the peak of the anti-cuts movements in 2010 and 2011. Here we take a look at those
intertwined movements, the student revolt, UK Uncut, the Trades Union Congress (TUC),
local anti-cuts groups, and single issue campaigns. Why weren’t they more effective? How
could they have been? Most importantly, what can we do now?
The Student Movement
Some of the earliest blows against austerity were landed by the student movement. The
foundations for this movement were laid in 2009, with the wave of university occupations
in support of the struggle of Palestinians against the Israeli state. This experience
taught many students important tactical lessons, and the victories it achieved boosted the
confidence of those that took part and those who would follow them.
Following the announcement of the tripling of tuition fees, the cutting of education
funding and the scrapping of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA), the response
from college, school, and university students was explosive. Demonstrations, marches, and
occupations spread across the country, and with Labour in opposition the National Union of
Students (NUS) was free to capitalise on this anger.
millbank window
Some students pay a visit to Conservative Party HQ
The NUS called for both local actions and large national marches, however on the 10th of
November 2010 it became clear they weren’t able to control the monster they’d helped to
unleash. While students were still on the streets of London battling the police and
trashing the Tory party HQ at Milbank their union’s leader, Aaron Porter, was on TV
condemning their actions. The NUS continued its trajectory into irrelevance, culminating
in Porters successor being chased from the stage by hecklers in 2012. The NUS confirmed
this beyond doubt when they pulled out of the 2014 student demonstration completely.
Perhaps the NUS should have seen this uncontrollable level of militancy coming. The local
demonstrations had become steadily more confrontational, as police repression and
government indifference radicalised students far faster than us anarchist infiltrators
could (despite the incessant warnings about us in the press). The student rebellion would
peak on the 9th of December 2010, the night that parliament voted through the cuts and fees.
The anger on the street led to running battles with the police, the trashing of the
treasury and west end shops, an attempt to burn Trafalgar’s Christmas tree, and almost
beyond belief, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall driving through an angry mob
that began chanting “off with their heads”. The Duchess was famously poked with a placard
stick, and the secret service escort car had its rear window shattered by a bin.
fire in parliament square
Anger in Parliament Square as MPs vote to increase tuition fees
So much focus had been on the vote in parliament that by the start of 2011 the movement
felt drained and demoralised. Much of the energy left got diverted into attempting to win
elected NUS positions in the hope of making it a more radical organisation. Many
anarchists argued this strategy was counter-productive from the start. Even in locations
where radical candidates did end up in positions of power, activists often found they were
too bound by the structure of the NUS to be much help. In fact, at one Westcountry uni the
most receptive officer to activist requests was the right leaning president. Never
underestimate how many concessions a scared right wing representative will give you – even
compared to supposedly leftist reps.
Elsewhere some anarchists tried to push for a more horizontal and federated structure
within the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC). However despite being much
smaller than the organisation they’d instigated, the centrist Alliance for Workers Liberty
(AWL) was able to sideline these plans due to their control of key NCAFC structures.
Many of the other connections between students in different cities were fragile and
informal. Despite the widespread influence of anarchist methods, attempts to create
anarchist student organising structures never gained sufficient traction. The flames of
resistance continued to burn over the next few years, most noticeably in Birmingham and
the South East, where great strides were made in student/worker solidarity. Attempts by
the state and university management to crush the remaining student movement backfired
massively in 2013, with the cops off campus demonstrations proving students still had
plenty of fight left in them.
However at the start of 2015 we are left without a cohesive movement; a union not fit for
purpose, the occupations not giving way to sustained contact between universities, NCAFC
not growing substantially enough beyond its London-centric cell, and other leftists being
caught up in the dead end of electoral politics.
TUC Unions & Anti Cuts Alliances
Whilst university organising always suffers from the transitory nature of university
itself, the long established public sector unions that make up the majority of the TUC do
not have that draw back. Many looked to them to lead the fight against cuts, some going as
far as prioritising the active lobbying of the TUC leadership.
anticuts
Across the UK local anti cuts demonstrations like this one attracted 1000s of people
The first union initiatives were the anti-cuts groups formed in many towns and cities,
primarily by local union branches and the socialist activists working within them. However
the sources of the strength of these groups were also the sources of their major
weaknesses. The involvement of the traditional ’entryist’ left often led to energy being
wasted on petty power struggles.
In the early days of the Bristol Anti Cuts Alliance both the Socialist Party (SP) and
Socialist Workers Party (SWP) approached the large anarchist contingent – within minutes
of each other – and asked us if we wanted to band together to pick who would get into
elected positions. We politely declined. When the SP did gain the upper hand, the SWP
members left to form an ironically named ‘Unite the Resistance’ group in Bristol. Similar
occurrences took place across the country.
The traditional leftist/union nature of these groups and their initial membership led to
traditional leftist/union style meetings. These were incredibly off putting to those who
hadn’t previously experienced them. Few new people stuck around beyond a couple of
meetings, which left anti-cuts groups unable to be a forum for the individuals and grass
roots groups they aimed to unite.
Like the student movement, these groups engaged in a flurry of activity in late 2010,
mostly in the form of marches and rallies in their locality. They were often initially
reluctant to support more diverse actions, such as occupations, for the fear of legal
ramifications directed at their constituent trade unions. In our experience it was often
left to the anarchists within the group to actually follow up the talk (oh so much talk)
with some genuine action.
AFed had some successes introducing more anarchists (and our ideas and tactics) to the
struggle via our Anarchists Against the Cuts initiative. This was later replicated on a
larger scale by the short lived Network X. Ultimately however we still ended up bound by
the structures already in place.
AatC
The local action was sustained throughout much of 2011 but the reliance on a core of Trade
Union activists meant that much of their available energy was taken up with plans for the
national marches, strike action, and ever increasing union case-loads as cuts hit
individual union members.
The first of these national marches on the 26th March 2011 was certainly a great show of
strength for the union movement in the UK, with a reported half a million people in the
streets. There was also a strong showing from the anarchist organisations with the large
Anarchist Federation & Solidarity Federation backed radical workers bloc, and a 1500
strong black bloc that trashed The Ritz along with other high profile targets.
The Black Bloc pays a visit to the Ritz
Predictably the union leaders were quick to condemn these actions, even if many of their
members were cheering the smashed windows earlier in the day (or even joining in!). A
little more surprising perhaps was the eight month wait for the TUC to launch coordinated
strike action, in the form of a 24 hour public sector general strike. Luckily union
activists further down the hierarchy had been able to keep the momentum going since March,
and November 30th saw up to two million workers on strike and over a thousand vibrant and
well attended demonstrations.
This could’ve been an excellent launch pad for sustained action, but the TUC leadership
was apparently hell bent on breaking the momentum that had been built up. They entered
into drawn out negotiations with the government over pay and pensions, and their next day
of strike action the following May involved only a fraction of the unions. Their own
estimates declaring it as only one fifth the size of the November 30th strike. The
rhetoric changed as well, with focus switching from a general resistance to austerity to
the specifics of pay and pensions. This made it all the easier for the right wing press to
play on the divide between private and public sector workers.
Strikes by education workers, NHS staff, fire fighters and others continued, but their
relative isolation meant they could only aim for minor re-negotiations of austerity rather
than resistance to it.
vodafone-protests-004
Vodafone: UK Uncut’s first target
UK Uncut
The movement that taught us that if you got the owners scared enough, you can shut down a
mobile phone shop for the day with just two people!
It burst into being in the autumn of 2010 (you may be noticing a pattern here), its
decentralised nature allowed it to spread quickly, and the media spotlight on tax
avoidance fuelled its rapid growth. It played an important role in countering the idea
that austerity was ‘necessary’ by providing a simple alternative: get rich corporations to
pay the tax that existing rules dictate they should be paying already). It also helped
popularise direct action in the form of pickets, blockades, occupations, and creative
forms of disruption to dent the profits of major retailers.
UK Uncut was arguably too narrow in its scope and too vague in its politics, not even
taking an explicitly anti-capitalist stance. This despite the majority of core
participants having anarchist or socialist political outlooks and their demonstrations
targeting large corporations and banks. After a number of massive nationwide days of
action against tax-dodging retailers, its high point was arguably on March 26th 2011.
Using the cover of the TUC march, UK Uncut activists shut down Oxford Street before
occupying Fortnum and Mason. The ensuing legal action against the occupiers and their own
legislation against HMRC would take up much of the core group’s energy over the following
months.
Not wanting to get stuck in a rut, UK Uncut switched it’s focus to supporting NHS workers
in the fight against the Health and Social Care bill. Despite some energetic protests,
this fight had the same fatal flaw as the previous year’s fight against tuition fees – no
plan B when the initial vote was lost in Parliament.
UK Uncut actions continued, albeit much smaller in number. The group also had a major
influence on the growth of Boycott Workfare, who have a clearer political stance and
continue to win victories to this day. Additionally UK Uncut were one of the first
organisations to put their weight into supporting Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC).
DPAC
Members of DPAC chain themselves together to block a road during a protest against cuts
Like UK Uncut, DPAC used a creative array of direct action tactics and captured a swell of
public anger, this time in the form of disgust at the governments attacks on disabled
people. The most infamous of these attacks were the work capability assessments, carried
out by private firm ATOS on behalf of the state. DPAC’s tactics were arguably even more
confrontational than those of UK Uncut, and their impact could not be ignored. Whilst ATOS
have been booted, their replacements (Maximus) aren’t much better, and the fight continues.
How could we have won?
There are several key moments that could’ve driven the coalition government to the brink,
and perhaps led to the ruling class rethinking the level of their attacks.
The first of these was when the student movement had sprung into action. Whilst many
lecturers were sympathetic, and there were words of support from their unions, there was
precious little action. Many students and rank & file trade unionists put considerable
effort into working with each other. Had the unions (or a majority of staff wild catting)
taken the risk of coming out on strike in coordination with the student days of action the
gains for both could’ve been considerable.
During this time anger amongst younger sections of the working class was steadily
increasing. Austerity and economic hardship escalated existing social tensions such as
feelings of alienation, demonisation in the media, restricted access to education, high
unemployment, lack of support, and incessant police harassment. All of this was compounded
by a society that promotes happiness via material possessions whilst denying the younger
generation any hope of acquiring them.
Liverpool riots
It’s August 2011 in Liverpool, and folks are pissed off
This anger found a focal point in August 2011 with the police murder of Mark Duggan, and
their subsequent repression of demonstrators. Waves of riots spread across the country,
with many of the rioters far more organised and politically aware than the media will ever
give them credit for. In Nottingham no less than five police stations were attacked and
fire bombed in a single night!
At this point much of the left and trade union movement was either staying quiet or
following the party political line of condemning the rioters in order to appear
respectable. Anarchists were rumoured to have taken part in much of the rioting and were
certainly hard at work in the weeks and months that followed, offering advice and support
to those fearing arrest or jail.
Despite this, as a movement we lacked a swift and organised response to the situation.
During that time the state was loosing its image of control, but it was always going to
take more to really hit back at it. This would’ve been the moment for the unionised
working class to strike, and for the anti austerity movement to make links with the
rebellious inner city. Messages of support for the grievances suffered, and solidarity
with those on the streets (regardless of any personal opinions some on the left may have
had on their methods) should have been swiftly followed by angry demonstrations and direct
actions. The days between the nights of rioting should have seen the streets filled with
just as many people, perhaps more. Stretching the state beyond breaking point.
This is all wishful thinking of course, and it is all too easy to dwell on things we
could’ve done better. There wasn’t, and isn’t, a UK-wide working class movement that is
militant, organised, and strong enough to have taken these actions. So what can we do to
build such a movement, and to achieve lasting victories in the battle against austerity?
Out of the Ashes
There was a marked decrease in the levels of participation and activity in anti austerity
(and related) struggles in 2012, activity since has been on the rise since, but much more
slowly. There have still been many inspiring demonstrations, campaigns, and victories.
From Pop Up Unions to Solidarity Networks, Focus E15 to Poor Doors, energy and creativity
has sparked a resistance able to evolve to suit the participants and the situations they
find themselves in.
A keen sense of where the state and capital is most vulnerable has been key. From the
chambers of the local council to the sites of developers and the offices of bailiffs there
are many places we can hit back. Collective struggles among people who are all being
affected by a specific issue are particularly powerful, as has been shown by the fights
for social housing in London. One of the reasons some of these campaigns have been so
resilient is the effort taken by those involved and their supporters to create links with
similar groups. This has allowed for mutual aid and the sharing of skills. this has meant
that even if a campaign goes through a period of inactivity or ends (due to victory or
defeat) momentum can be sustained.
E15
A clear message and the will to fight from the focus E15 mothers
Where these struggles appear, or where there is potential for them to appear, they should
be offered as much support, solidarity and skills to as possible. They should also be
assisted in resisting attempts to take them over, force them in particular directions, or
use them to serve other projects at their own expense. Aided by their reputation for
support comrades in London AFed have set an impressive example; getting stuck in with
numerous local groups, linking struggles together, and building alliances organically from
the ground up (rather than the attempted top down alliances of the past). Spreading news
and making others aware of the battles taking place is another key task. Especially when
the people learning about these battles may be facing similar challenges.
Achieving a campaign’s stated aims should always be its priority; whether that campaign is
industrial action, a housing struggle, or a fight to keep a service open. These aims are
more achievable and the campaigns themselves strengthened when they join together in a
general anti capitalist resistance. This is a view we should share widely if we are to
secure gains for the working class, and help create the structures and strategies needed
for victory.
Internationalism and Escalation
Austerity, like capitalism, doesn’t stop at borders, and the resistance to it shouldn’t
either. This article has stuck to covering the movements of the UK but looking further
afield can provide not just inspiration but solidarity. Student action in Chile and Quebec
has demonstrated what is possible when fights are not given up at their first defeat in
parliament. Joint European strikes, and international days of action have shown there are
still vibrant international links in our movements, which can benefit us and our comrades
over seas.
This international struggle against austerity is primarily a demand for capitalism to
provide us with a much larger cut of the wealth we create as workers. However, it could
and should go far beyond a desire to return to the pre-crisis days of 2007 (remember,
things were pretty shit back then too). We must demand the things our communities need and
desire, and take or create them directly wherever we have the means to. These demands will
come at the expense of capitalism’s masters and their profits, indeed there will come a
point where capitalism is incapable of giving us everything we demand.
So be it, a movement with the power to overturn austerity will be one capable of
overturning the entire capitalist system. It turns out no more cuts may be a far more
revolutionary demand than many of us realised.
revolution
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» UK Britain, Anarchist Federation ORGANISE! #84 - Poking a Future Monarch with a Stick: A Critical Look at the UK Anti-Cuts Movement