It was one of those days when I spent rather a lot of time running around London looking for things that either didn’t happen or I decided there was nothing much to photograph. On top of which there was also one of London’s largest protests, the No more Austerity march and rally organised by The People’s Assembly, trade unions and campaign groups starting from outside the BBC.
Two groups had promised to hold protests on their way to the big one, and I did manage to find one of these, a protest outside the Regent St Tesco branch where earlier protests and direct action had led to the removal of ‘homeless spikes’, designed to stop rough sleepers resting there. The Call for Nationwide Homeless Spikes Ban was smaller than I had hoped, but there was a story and it’s demand for a nation-wide ban was reinforced by a protester from Cornwall – carrying a Cornish flag – and policed by a Welsh police officer. But of the beach party themed flash mob taking the underground to the more austerity march I saw no sign, though I did I think find them later on the anti-Austerity march.
I’d also planned to cover two unrelated protests, one at Downing St and the other at the US embassy. I went to both shortly after their advertised starting times; opposite Downing St there were a small group of people, but no sign of them beginning a protest. At the US Embassy there was a small protest taking place, but little to photograph. I took a few pictures, talked to the protesters, who told me there were more coming and I promised to return later when they thought there would be more. But when I returned to both groups later, neither were anywhere to be seen, and I didn’t have enough material for either to make a story.
No More Austerity was different. A large protest with perhaps 15-20,000 people marching from outside the BBC, who almost entirely failed to notice it (a short mention appeared belatedly on the local news.) The organisers claimed 100,000 on the march and at the rally, and some papers quoted that unrealistic figure as fact.
My main problem in covering the event was simply it was too large and too crowded, at least at the start, and there was just too much to photograph. Too many interesting banners – such as that carried by the ‘Class War Womens’ Death Brigade’ with its typically uncompromising quote from US anarchist activist Lucy Parsons (Chicago police called her ‘More dangerous than a thousand rioters!’) “We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live” as well as a rather fine crocheted less controversial ‘Tax the Rich’.
It was also rather warm, and I could have done without the extra rushing around central London for the missing protests I tried to find as the end of the march reached Oxford Circus, a quarter mile or so from the start.
When there are large protests in London like this, traffic is hugely disrupted, and the only ways to get around quickly are either on foot (or bike) and the tube. But underground stations are seldom very close to where you want to be, so that too involves a lot of walking or running. Often too, as on this Saturday, key lines or stations are closed for engineering works, and I found I had to do rather more on foot than I liked, particularly when carrying a heavy bag on a hot day. So when I finally arrived at Parliament Square, a short walk from Westminster tube – I was as hot and tired as the protesters who were just arriving having marched the whole distance.
Fortunately the organisers had arranged for a fairly large press area in front of the platform, unlike at some other events, which made it easy for us to work, and particularly to photograph the speakers at the rally. The microphone then became the main problem, with some speakers apparently trying to hide from my camera behind it, along with a metal lectern that almost completely hid some of the less tall.
Celia Mitchell reads one of her late husband Adrian Mitchell’s poems
What surprised me greatly about the rally was that there were no speakers from the most active group of anti-austerity protesters, DPAC and other groups of the disabled. I later learnt that this was because the event organisers had refused to provide disabled access to the stage, or rather asked that DPAC should pay for it. It seemed unbelievable that any left group should be so clearly anti-equality; had they known in advance I suspect many of those who did speak would have boycotted the event.
NUT General Secretary Christine Blower with a reflection of Big Ben in her sunglasses
Something I did find annoying were the continual announcements that Russell Brand was on his way to speak at the rally. I expected him on past performance to be the least interesting of the speakers, and while his support brings publicity for the cause I think the whole cult of celebrity is something that the left should try and oppose. When he hadn’t turned up an hour and a half after the rally started I decided it was time to go home. Of course it was pictures of him on stage that dominated the press coverage of the event.
I was quite pleased with some of the pictures I made of the speakers, mainly using the longer end of the 75-300mm zoom, though some were on the 18-105mm. It wasn’t too crowded in front of the stage and I was able to move around quite a bit, which makes a big difference. There were also relatively few large video cameras, which also rather impede movement, particularly as you try to avoid being in shot. And of course there was no sign of the BBC!
Pictures from the day at:
Call for Nationwide Homeless Spikes Ban
No more Austerity – demand the alternative
People’s Assembly Rally
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My London Diary : Buildings of London : River Lea/Lee Valley : London’s Industrial Heritage
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