I’m not taking part in today’s march. I hope it goes well and is reported fairly by the media. However I’m a bit ambivalent about the whole thing. One reason for my ambivalence is reflected in a tweet which I saw this morning. Other reasons are suggested by this piece, even though Mark Ferguson is in fact going on the march.
I won’t be doing this because I think that Cameron and his sidekick George Osborne will suddenly realise the error of their ways, and remove the chokehold of austerity from an economy they have done their best to throttle to death. I don’t even believe, as some do, that a large turnout tomorrow will show the government the extent of the opposition to their plans, and cause them to think again before going further. I hope I’m proved wrong, but I imagine tomorrow’s march will be written off by the Tories both in public and in private as a left-wing march by Labour, people who help fund Labour and people to the left of Labour.
I don’t believe tomorrow’s march will directly or indirectly bring about the end of destructive austerity.
So what exactly is the strategic (or other) purpose of the march? I don’t ask this question in a hostile spirit, but it seems more useful, if you want change (not everyone does) perhaps to campaign on behalf of Labour (and the Police Commissioner elections are coming up soon), promote greater union membership or simply lobby your MP about specific issues. Here’s an interesting piece, again from someone who is going on the march, but in a rather sceptical spirit.
I aim to join it, but with a strong feeling of pointlessness, that it is poorly conceived and will squander resources.
He goes on to suggest some alternative ideas for bringing about change.
