Edinburgh Protestors Arrested in Day of Anti-Cuts Action

Thursday saw mass student protests in London and militant action in Glasgow as the Con Dem government passed a law allowing universities to charge £9,000 in tuition fees, part of the continuing impetus of capitalism and its political advocates toward destroying the free provision of education and the universal, collectivist ideas that underpin it. This law and the mass, militant protests against it have been well covered on this blog and other outlets.

In Edinburgh today it was a different story. The National Union of Students (NUS) and the Edinburgh University Student’s Association (EUSA) held a “candlelit vigil” with carol singing outside the Scottish parliament. For a great account of why such a strategy is completely usless for fighting cuts, see the final paragraphs here. So short and passive a protest against what is one of the most significant hammerings to universal education provision since the creation of the welfare state, it was over before I even arrived, 45 minutes after the start time! I asked a student who was walking away afterwards what she thought of the rally and vigil: ”crap, unessesary, and stupid”. The same adjectives could be used to describe the contribution of the NUS toward the student campaign against cuts more generally.

However, there is another story of anti-cuts activity in Edinburgh today. A group of students had attempted to hang a massive banner saying “fight the cuts!” from Edinburgh castle: almost managing but ultimately thrown out by security guards as the one o’clock gun went off. They then tried to hang the same banner from North Bridge, but the weather and an ill-placed ledge prevented this. Finally, they decided to storm the Lib-Dem offices in Edinburgh: walking in and chanting, before staff members set off the alarm. After this they were followed by police (as they had been all day), jumped by officers (including plain clothes officers) and ordered to give their identities. Three of the protesters who refused to give their names were taken to police cells for questioning.

Thus, my evening was spent outside an Edinburgh police station with a group of students who were waiting for the release of their comrades: in fact we even had a “vigil” of our own. This allowed me the chance to learn about the events above, giving me some hope for the student anti-cuts movement in Edinburgh, which seems to be increasingly co-opted by their student’s association and the NUS, in contrast to the student movement in many other parts of Scotland, and indeed Britain. Eventually the three protesters were released, having been charged with “Failing to Give Name”. They are on bail and must appear in court at a date in January. Interestingly, someone informed me that in England refusing to give your name to the police is within your rights, but in Scotland it is not.

Today and tonight’s events in Edinburgh highlight two things for me. First, the NUS and various self-proclaimed “student’s representatives” are (as many of you will not be surprised) counter-productive to the creation of a militant, autonomous and united student and wider anti-cuts movement that will be necessary to defeat the cuts programme of the Con Dem government. Second, with the rise of a genuine social movement of students against the cuts, including mass protests occuring and links being made with wider anti-cuts movements, the police are stepping up their response in a number of ways. This includes increased repression of protestors at demonstrations, increased monitoring of anyone seen as a potential militant, organiser or regular participant, and scare tactics to stop people getting involved or cow those already involved. Even tonight, while walking to the police station, we were followed by police who asked us where we were going and what our purpose was, and while outside the police station, our group of about 15 was monitored by numerous officers and three badly-hidden police vans nearby.

However, today’s events in Glasgow show how the police can be left lagging behind and unable to cope with a determined, organised and militant group of protesters. In building a mass movement against cuts, we’ll need more of that in Edinburgh too.