March for the alternative: round-up of photos

I noted on my previous post, You can take Kennington Common from the Chartists. that I wouldn't be attending the March for the Alternative.  Thankfully, a number of SE11 residents were present and did take photos, so thanks to the kindness of one of my Twitter followers, @AdamF81 I've a couple that can be displayed on the blog (including one of the defiant Trojan horse).  I must add that I don't condone violence of any type, nor the minority of violent march-participants, but I hope it's clear from these photos that the people taking part are a completely mixed bag.

The protestors left Kennington Park at about 11:30am:

There's also a video of the march on Facebook here, and if you want to view the photos or make any comments on the march, there's a Facebook page set up and dedicated to Kennington here.

There are more photos of spitfires and tanks also processing up from Camberwell Green to Kennington Park over here which notes that the props (including Trojan horse) were created by art students at Camberwell.

Also, take a look at the photos from Peter Marshall, showing the range of different people at Kennington Park, from Latin American community groups to Councillor Kingsley Adams (local independent Labour councillor) and families to Ted Knight (old Lambeth leader).  Lots of Unison members, teachers etc.

And (edit 6:4/2011), I've added some more photos of the march gathering in Kennington Park, with permission from Indymedia from whom they're sourced:

 (Photo originally from Indymedia)

(Photo originally from Indymedia)

(Photo originally from Indymedia)

 (Photo originally from Indymedia)

 (Photo originally from Indymedia)

 (Photo originally from Indymedia)

You can take Kennington Common from the Chartists, but you can't take the Chartists out of Kennington Park

I'm sure that if you're interested, you'll already have heard from another source, but tomorrow is the day that the March for the Alternative is taking place in London and one of the feeder marches leaves from Kennington Park at 11am.

The first aim of the march (which is organised by the TUC) is to give a national voice to those affected by the ConDem deficit-solution programme and to demonstrate peoples' opposition to the extent of the cuts.  The second aim of the march is to reject the government's argument that there is no alternative option to deep cuts.  The marchers will demonstrate against the swingeing cuts which they argue are not the most effective way to ease the country out of the recession.

The Guardian expects the following folk on the March for the Alternative; students, mums/toddlers, pensioners, a football supporters union named "the Spirit of Shanky", campaigners against domestic violence, medical personnel from "Keep our NHS public", off-duty police officers (as well as those on duty), journalists, a national anti-cut alliance, a group called Resist 26 who intend to occupy Hyde Park, a group of campaigners who are inspired by protests in the Middle East and intend to occupy Trafalgar Square for 24 hours and finally... anarchists/communists and militant workers who think the TUC have sold out.  The anarchist/communist/militant group are the ones organising the feeder march from Kennington Park.

Naturally, there is a certain amount of "establishment" opposition to radical folk all getting together to protest, so the Financial Times has an ex-commander from Scotland Yard warning that "extremist" groups might be planning violence.  I wonder whether they'd be referring to the mums/toddlers or the pensioners??  But... it seems that this intelligence emerged from the stable of "The Policy Exchange", a right-wing think tank, and actually, the current Met Police are aware of rumblings but aren't so concerned.  The ex-commander thinks the police aren't aggressive enough at rooting out troublemakers early, and he seems to be agitating.  The TUC apparently intend to have a peaceful family day...

Don't be afraid that the Kennington Park demonstrators will be hardcore anarchists, they're going to be ordinary folk too.  Urban 75 say South London will be assembling at Kennington Park, and the march will be supported by, "Lambeth TUC, Southwark TUC, Lambeth SOS, Southwark SOS, Wandsworth Against the Cuts, Lewisham Anti-Cuts Alliance, Latin American Coalition Against the Cuts, Goldsmiths Students’ Union, Defend Southbank Defend Education, Lambeth and Lewisham Right to Work.".  They can't all be anarchists!

Simon Jenkins, of the Guardian's "Comment is Free" (which hit my radar on account of his mention of Kennington Park) thinks British people attempting to identify with protesters in the Middle East is "insulting" to those suffering under quasi-facist regimes.  He thinks protests are outdated.  But I've never believed that solidarity meant that one had to assume similarities of regime.  It's perfectly obvious that Britain under Cameron is not Libya under Gaddafi, but I'd have thought that the Middle Eastern protesters would welcome British folk promoting two causes.  Me?  I love a good protest.  Unfortunately, I'm already committed elsewhere tomorrow, but would be there if I could.  In my view, protests and demos are a way of building solidarity for a cause, making a point a a creative manner, and discovering new friends.  Jenkins though, thinks demonstrations do not make much difference and

 "are mostly boosts to group morale, childish song festivals, obsessions with the media and desperate attempts to cause a genteel nuisance without breaching the law".

But isn't that missing the point?  I mean, demonstrations do make a difference, but sometimes they make more of a difference to those who are on them than those who observe them.  The London Million Women Rise march numbers nowhere close to one million women, but it provides a much-needed space for women to get together and affirm that male violence against women is wrong.  It's a space to say, "violence exists, behind closed doors, and we want to talk about it".  Maybe it makes no difference to Jenkins, but it does to the women who march who have stayed silent for many years.  Pride marches used to be a form of protest and solidarity, but when they'd achieved most of their goals, they became a carnival and a way of demonstrating that London has room for a diversity of views.  Do these things make any difference? Undoubtedly, but that doesn't necessarily mean they lead to legislative change.  Are they still needed when we have Twitter and Facebook and blogs and television?  Yes, absolutely.  Demonstrations and protests are more important in a society that has weakened social and familial ties because they offer citizens a protection (a very weak protection, admittedly) against the coercive nature of even democratic states.  (Indeed, that any journalist can label Britain "peaceable" whilst it appears to be at war with three countries rather demonstrates that many people fail to recognise how coercive Britain actually is).


Protests may not necessarily achieve their stated aims, but this does not prove that they "do not make much difference".  The demonstration against the Iraq war certainly didn't stop Tony Blair taking the country to war, but the political cynicism it created in the eyes of a younger British public may be behind demands for thorough-going parliamentary reform.  They may not, of course.  But one cannot know what the outcomes would have been had nobody marched.  Protests are much more than "the venue of withdrawal of consent when all else has failed," they are actually a means for creating a different society.  They're a place for forming a body politic and for shaping political opinions.  What Tahrir and Trafalgar Squares have in common is that the people who occupy them long for a politics that will include the ordinary bodies that are missing from the Westminsters of the world.

Today's politicians won't be out of a job (at least for a few years) as a result of the cuts they voted in, and they won't be surviving on State pensions alone when they leave Westminster.  But joblessness and fuel poverty and the failure of adequate healthcare might  be experienced by millions of ordinary people if the cuts bite deep, and the NHS is crushed beyond repair.  That matters.  Occupying a square is something an ordinary woman or man might do.  Occupying parliament is not.  March onwards!

Vauxhall Prospective Parliamentary Candidates 2010

Lambeth Council have listed the nominated candidates motley crew representing the Vauxhall Constituency in the Parliamentary Election on May 6th 2010.  There are rather more than candidates than initially predicted, and whatever people say, I tend to think that elections are won on sound bites and slogans.  I've therefore tried to summarise each candidate's likes and dislikes as succintly as possible so that you can avoid watching televised debates or reading tedious campaign literature.  If in doubt, just vote for the person with the best picture:

Glyn Chambers (Conservative)

Likes: Faith & parent-promoted schools, renovating council houses, ombudsman schemes & greater"say" for leaseholders, cheap home-helps, pavement/road investment, planting trees, using bicycles and progressing leisure facilities.
Dislikes: Badly behaved pets, closed lavatories and residential dustcart depots.



Jeremy Drinkall (Anticapitalists - Workers Power)
Likes: Defending council housing, stopping wars, representing trade unions, taxing wealthy people, providing unemployed people with jobs, education for the masses, Revolution and meeting fire with fire.
Dislikes: Capitalism & the "free" market, paying for the bankers' crisis, privatised academy schools, pay-cuts for workers and poverty


Joseph Healy (Green Party)

Likes: Eco-socialism, stopping wars, supporting carers, trade unions, Palestine, LGBT rights and the welfare state.
Dislikes: Spending cuts that might affect people with disabilities, benefit slashing and ID cards



Kate Hoey (Labour) - Current MP

Likes: Fox hunting, supporting Zimbabwe, accountability in football, ousting Speakers, keeping her expenses trim, causing trouble, Boris Johnson, (to be continued as her website is down)

Dislikes: The war against Iraq, global warming, the digital equality bill, Trident missiles, Lycra lout cyclists, LGBT rights and student top-up fees

James Kapetanos (The Animal Protection Party)

aka "Fantastic Mr Fox" due to lack of available photo

Likes: Foxes, badgers, bears, dogs, cats, mice, birds, reptiles, hamsters, insects, snakes, wasps, hornets, squid and vegans.

Dislikes: Fox-hunting, dissecting live animals (vivisection), hunting, animal testing and the Countryside Alliance.

Daniel Lambert (The Socialist Party)

(A rather general statement from the party, I'm afraid, due to lack of available info.)

Likes: Making the world a better place, democracy, common ownership, peace, non-discrimination and material security for all.

Dislikes: Career politicians, poor schools, poor hospitals and poor housing, wages that don't pay bills, profit in general, and the failures of the current dreary system

Larna Martin (The Christian Party)

(Another general statement from the party, I'm afraid, due to lack of available info.)

Likes: Jesus, low taxation, abolishing inheritance tax, driving fast, "reasonable force" by classroom teachers, cutting green house gases, the abolition of the FSA, public sector cuts, nuclear deterrents and her husband (whose right ear is visible here)

Dislikes: Imprisoning drug users, the sex trade, bailiffs, primary sex education, the NHS, loose border controls and redefining marriage.

Jose Navarro (English Democrats)

(Another general statement from the party, I'm afraid, due to lack of available info.)

Likes: Fiscal devolution, a market economy (but not unrestrained), expanding manufacturing, ending mass immigration, individual liberty, St George, marital families (mother, father and children), the military and improved care for the elderly.

Dislikes: The EU, stealth taxes, Scotland, political correctness and the Commission for Equality & Human Rights 

Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrats)

(Can't seem to find a Vauxhall Constituency Lib Dem manifesto, so this is rather generalised)

Likes: Public transport, promoting good mental health care, being a strong voice, affordable housing, leisure facilities, local issues.

Dislikes: Identity cards and profiteering from expenses, 

The inspiration for the SE11 blog; 56a infoshop

I've been meaning, for a while, to make a post about (part of) the reason for starting this blog.

I used to work in the SE11 area in a job where I was required to spend a considerable amount of time trudging around Kennington, Elephant, Vauxhall, Stockwell, Brixton, all over really. Whilst working, I chose to walk a great deal, and I took a lot of short cuts through random areas. Such trudging lead to lurking, and the lurking lead to a great deal of knowledge about some really groovy hangouts.

The one that really inspired the blog though was the discovery of the 56a Infoshop on Crampton Street. It was the first place that made me say, "I wonder why more people don't know about this... it's a really good local place to lurk about". I know that Crampton Street is in SE17, but it's one of the places I really wanted to add to the map, even though it's outside the mapped area (and it's also one of the reasons that SE17 is a place that I'm qite interested in blogging).

The 56a Infoshop on Crampton Street is a kind of information resource and food distribution centre and social space, based loosely around a theme of "radical" politics. It appears to be held together by volunteers who work fairly limited shifts. This sounds like a bad thing, but actually the limited opening times almost always guarantee that it's open when it says it will be. At certain times, the Fair Shares food place (I hesitate to say "shop" since I think it would be better characterised as a "way of life") is open, and it sells (not for profit) vegetarian and vegan goods. At other times, they run free bike workshops for teaching people how to fix bikes. My favourite part though, is the kind of archive of books, zines, pamphlets and odd bits of paper based loosely around the theme of alternative politics. It include anarchy, encapsulates feminist info (really hard to find this these days), socialist literature, queer history, alternative histories of London, squatting info, and a whole lot of things that don't quite fit into the categories outlined. Also, they have a fair amount of non-UK related material.

When you first wander into 56a, it's quite odd as it doesn't appear to be "staffed" by anybody. There is no hierarchy, and anybody can come and affiliate (or just lurk there) themselves, if they feel that the space might be useful for them to read, study or hang about in.

There is a website for the 56a Infoshop here.

Edit: There's a great video by some friendly looking ladies about their work too.