Demos are crucial for maintaining pressure

Thomas Jefferson once said that “When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.” For me, this sums up perfectly the National Demo on 9 November, and the police response to it.

10,000 students marched through London to fight against fees, cuts and privatisation, and to demand a better future. But before the students had even set off for London, the government had decided that instilling fear in us was the most appropriate strategy. They announced that, for the first time in living history, rubber bullets would be sanctioned on mainland Britain and deployed 4,000 police officers in riot suits.

Such extreme measures – including warning ‘known protestors’ by post that they could be shot if they tried anything – can only be interpreted as legalised intimidation and bullying. Videos are now being circulated showing plain clothes police officers infiltrating the crowd and dragging activists out by their ears in scenes which resemble a Quentin Tarentino film.

So why is the government playing the role of the Mafia and using the police for bullying, intimidation and gang violence? Because the government has good reason to fear the people. Despite appearances, when governments face their people, the people win.

Take last year: we lost the tuition fees vote and many claimed that we had failed. But we didn’t fail; we smashed the cuts consensus – no longer could the government pretend that there was widespread public support for their attacks on public services. Their ideological agenda is not shared by the people of the UK, and that is now blatantly clear.

The 9 November demo showed that students will not sit back and watch as their universities are privatised. It is our job to make the case that education is a public good that benefits the whole of society, not just a means of getting a slightly better paid job (if indeed you get a job at all). Demos and other actions are crucial for maintaining pressure on the government, until public opinion is so overwhelming that they have little choice but to change their policies.

When the German government introduced fees the students took to the streets and occupied their university buildings. Now, 11 of the 16 regions offer free education for their people. We too will fight until we win. The government has much to fear of us.