London March: The people have had enough!

For the 10,000 or so people that attended the demo, Wednesday 19 November will mark a pivotal moment of the calendar year. For some, this may well have been their first taste of political activism — the crowd possessing a youthful enthusiasm. There was a renewed feeling of hope in the air compared to the protests in 2010, were scenes of anguish and despair were witnessed, as those who felt ideologically attacked expressed their anguish through anarchy and chaos. This time people were demanding something vastly different to 2010; they were asking for the annihilation of tuition fees.

As the day’s proceedings gathered haste, a party atmosphere surrounded the demonstrators, as those attending proudly chanted and walked towards Parliament Square. Once by Parliament, students listened to talks from a plethora of powerful speakers. The Green Party in particular having a very strong presence, especially Brighton Pavilion MP — Caroline Lucas, who whipped up an excitable crowd.

Without the support of NUS, the organisers managed to gather swathes of people from across the country to take part in this day of action. Unsurprisingly, the Daily Mail and the BBC chose to make the tiny amount of arrests on the day the focal point of their coverage – despite the fact misdemeanours were minor and the trouble minimum. Splinter groups did attempt to attack Starbucks and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, but they were pressured by police and eventually gave way.

In 2010, future students were told the tripling of tuition fees was the price they would have to pay for a flatlining economy, when the educational establishment was working fine. This dreadful government has privatised education and those on the march have had enough. From those I spoke to, they hope this is the spark that revolutionises the movement.

December sees more action planned across the UK — there’s life in the students yet.

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