Anyone want to name an example of a protest march that a) acheived its aim...

[SpringchickenGoldBrass]

within living memory and b) achieved its aim better and quicker because some fuckwits people actually took their very small DC along?

Well the poll tax was abolished wasn't it, and Maggie stepped down.

Sorry springchicken I missed your point there, what was it?

how about the women and children in Egypt, within the last month?

Mmm - was going to ask my friends on FB who went on the march if any of them could actually give me an example of how their lives had been adversley affected by 'the cuts', or indeed anything they'd ever marched against rather than anecdotal evidence of how 'things would be worse if this happened'. I think modern politics are largely ineffectual & neutered but people like to get together for 'a cause', particularly if a right wing government is involved.

Took more than one protest march to ditch the Poll Tax; I recall rioting in the streets.

Er, that there was rioting in the streets, not that I personally took part!

I think the poll tax protests were effective - but that also involved people going to prison for refusing to pay.

Suffragettes! I was there!

The Velvet Revolution?

The poll tax riots.
Egypt.
The fall of eastern Europe.
I'm sure there's more.
And looking at the footage on the news, there seemed to be a lot of ordinary looking people in fear of losing their jobs.

Erm... nope. Marches and protests are generally a waste of time and energy IMHO and for that reason you won't find me on one.

what's your point, SGB?

I'm thinking that I'm getting it, but calling people who take their nippers on demos 'fuckwits' is def BU

some charming things I saw today- dad changing a shitey nappy using placard as a mat on the Embankment, tot on dad's shoulders holding placard reading "this situation is so dire I am allowing my parents to use me as a political pawn"- on the other side: "they told me there would be biscuits"

basically, if you want to go, and you've got kids, then you have to take the kids.

Still no-one has said how they have been affected by any cuts......

I suspect SGB's point may be that, as someone on another thread said, "mild-mannered march goes off without incident" makes news not. Causes no-one upset. The whole march wasn't even reported as an event at all in the media, other than traffic warnings for the Londonistas.

or it may not be her point. She maybe willing to illuminate us all.

Spiderlegs - my sister.
Who works in a Council run daycentre for people with serious learning difficulties.
There are many people losing their jobs in the public sector.
Or why the fuck were there 250,000 on the streets?

The suffragettes. The poll tax demo.

in our local authority, 1,000 people will be leaving work on Friday, but won't be walking back in on Monday. The gap in essential services are going to be catastrophic. We've just yet to see just by how much.

Romania.

I'd like to think that my family's participitation to stop the Benyon and Corry amendments to the abortion act did some good in the 1970's.These men wanted to re criminalise terminations of pregnency for all reasons.It's a shame that some protests get hijacked by idiots.

surely poll tax was just renamed council tax?

greenham common seemed to do some good iirc

the losses in public provision has yet largely to be seen, so spidery's question is a bit previous.

No poll tas was PER PERSON, council tax is per household.

sharbie - no, Poll Tax was dreadfully personalised, unaffordable and divisive. Just the way Thatcher liked it.