Bob Blocksidge was one of the 200+ Islanders who travelled to London at the weekend to take part in the March for the Alternative. Here’s his view of the day. Ed
At 7am on Saturday March 26th, five coaches left the Isle of Wight, bound for the Anti cuts demonstration in London, paid for by the unions UNISON and UNITE and PCS. The coaches were full of the Islands Trade Unionists, community groups and concerned Islanders.
The coaches arrived at the “London Eye” at about 11.30 am, where we disembarked. As we were on the opposite side of the River Thames to the where the demonstration was being held, we had to walk to Waterloo Bridge to cross over the river.
It was just as well we assembled our banners at the side of the coaches, as it would have been impossible on the Embankment, due to the huge crowds.
An hour to cross the Waterloo Bridge
It took us the best part of an hour to walk over Waterloo Bridge as the thousands of protesters funnelled into the main body of the demonstration. It took the others and myself, with the Isle of Wight Trades Union Council banner about five hours to reach Piccadilly. We then had to make our way back to the coach, as it was leaving London at 5.15 pm. So we never quite made Hyde Park, to listen to the speeches by the trade union leaders.
It wasn’t until we were walking back to the coach, that we heard about what the scum had done to the shops. They hijacked the demonstration and tried to discredit the trade union movement.
Peaceful demonstration
The demonstration was extremely peaceful and good-humoured, with plenty of playful banter. The various types of bands, from samba bands to jazz, and even a tank playing marshal music, kept us entertained all the way.
One trade union leader said that the Government should take out its Keynesian notes and re-think its destructive policies. Unfortunately the only notes the government has are those by Milton Friedman who would take us back to ground zero. The privatisation of the Welfare state, and the promotion of the individual, with the destruction of all the gains since 1945 is the policy of this government
Bob Blocksidge, UNITE Delegate, Isle of Wight Trade Union Council
