The Sex Pistols sang about 'Anarchy In The UK' but the reality has hit the streets in 2011 as a growing number of young people take direct action rather than just protesting via a demonstration. Numbers of anarchists will soar as students and some of the 1m young people who can't find a job turn away from traditional political parties and take matters into their own hands.
London witnessed what anarchists could do during the TUC 'March For The Alternative' on Saturday 26th March, as windows at the Ritz hotel were smashed and paint thrown at the luxury hotel along with Topshop being attacked due to tax avoidance by Sir Philip Green and others. Viewers on the BBC saw anarchists spraying slogans like 'class war' on buildings as anarchists and police fought away from the main march, which was attended by around 500,000 people.
Many young people not only feel let down by the betrayal of the Liberal Democrats, who had been instrumental in mobilising them to vote in the 2010 General Election - only to sell them out as soon as they got into power! Students were the first in line when the coalition announced it's plans to slash £81b from public spending, seeing them as an easy target. This gave birth to a student movement that put traditional unions to shame - young people didn't spend months in deliberation about whether they should take action or not. They marched in their thousands around the country and especially in London, but their shouts of 'no ifs, no buts, no education cuts' fell mostly on deaf ears for those in government. The over reaction of the police and subsequent kettling only made matters worse for the young people who wanted their voice to be heard.
It is little wonder that students could start turning to more radical outlets in order to get their point across. Direct action is on the increase and no matter how many new laws or impositions Home Secretary Theresa May introduces, anarchists will work around the law to get their point across. The main political parties have failed young people and peaceful demonstrations, in their opinion, do not work. For many anarchists, taking matters into their own hands has become the only option. We will see more events like this over the coming months unless the government gives young people hope instead of hurting cuts.
The UK will see an increase in anarchist action as more young people join in the resistance, unless young people are heard by the ruling class. The new generation have seen rulers swept away in the Middle East and North Africa, they don't want to wait another four years to vote for change (only to get the same sort of policies with a political party that has a different colour). Yet there is an alternative for young people that doesn't involve smashing up shops - it does involve smashing up this old failed capitalist system and replacing it with socialism. Big business and banks need to be taken into democratic public control and run for the millions, not for the millionaires. Education should be free, like it was before Labour and the Tories started charging students. Britain has the wealth, the problem is down to capitalism that ensures the wealth remains in the pockets of the ruling class, while the working class are left to pay for the crisis in capitalism. For more info visit: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/
Video footage from the BBC of the March 26th 2011 of anarchist action in London
Video footage by ITN of Trafalgar Square as it becomes a battleground
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