Protestors broke windows at Millbank to enter the building. Click the picture to view more photos of the protests. Photo: Sophia Ignatidou
Goldsmiths lecturers are under fire from Downing Street for backing student protesters who stormed Conservative Headquarters yesterday.
Downing Street has called lecturers “irresponsible” for issuing a statement congratulating staff and students on what the academics called a “magnificent anti-cuts demonstration”, the Evening Standard reported.
The Goldsmiths branch of the University and College Union released the statement yesterday afternoon, expressing support for the 50,000 people who marched through Westminster in protest at funding cuts and tuition fee hikes. The statement criticised the National Union of Students and the national UCU for condemning the dramatic storming of Tory HQ by several hundred protesters.
“We wish to condemn and distance ourselves from the from the divisive and, in our view, counter-productive statements issued by NUS and UCU concerning the occupation of the Conservative Party HQ,” the statement read. “The real violence in this situation relates not to a smashed window but to the destructive impact of the cuts.”
Goldsmiths itself has taken the same line as the NUS and UCU, a spokesperson said: “This statement in no way reflects the views of Goldsmiths. We completely disassociate ourselves from what has been reported.
“Our position echoes that of the University and College Union and of the National Union of Students in that it was deeply saddening to see a peaceful protest tarnished by utterly unacceptable behaviour”
At the height of yesterday’s demonstration a large group smashed windows and entered the Millbank headquarters of the Conservative party. A small group of about 20, including around five Goldsmiths students, made it to the roof of the high-rise tower block, but were later among fifty-one arrested by police as they attempted to leave.
All the students were released overnight.
Goldsmiths students involved in the Millbank invasion quickly received the backing from their lecturers’ union. Downing Street reacted angrily when news of the lecturer’s support emerged this afternoon.
James Haywood. Photo: Seb Wheeler
Earlier, the Prime Minister had called for the “full force of the law” to be brought against any who became violent. The National Union of Students condemned the Millbank protest as “despicable” and “not part of our plan.”
Angela Phillips, a lecturer in Media & Communications at Goldsmiths, who attended the march which proceeded the dramatic scenes at Millbank, said that “before Mr Cameron condemns the smashing of windows, he should remember his Bullingdon days, and recognise that at least these students were doing it for a good cause.”
Five Goldsmiths students were arrested yesterday, and released on bail early this morning.
Among them was James Haywood, communication and campaigns officer for the college students union, who was arrested while trying to leave the building. He was released on bail until February. Police confiscated his telephone and his clothes.
Mr Haywood said students would not be deterred by the threat of arrest. “I have no regrets. The occupation of Tory HQ was completely justified.”
He distanced the Goldsmiths group from those who threw missiles and a fire extinguisher from the roof. “There were a few idiots there,” he said, “None of our lot.’’
However, Mr Haywood refused to condemn the damage done to the building and said that the protest was mostly peaceful. “The vandalism was unfortunate, but when you have a Government who are not listening to people this is what you have to expect. The Government are to blame. These people are damaging futures of thousands. The damage done to their building is nothing in comparison.”
Mr Haywood said he was taken to Charing Cross police station and remanded there until 1.30am this morning. Police used the same ‘kettling’ tactics employed at the G20 protests in the City of London in 2009 to contain the final few hundred demonstrators and stagger their departure. They photographed those leaving the scene to identify potential suspects and made 51 arrests.
He described a game of cat-and-mouse with police at the heart of Tory HQ.
“We were told the police had secured the area, so we thought we should get down from the roof,” Mr Haywood said. “We tried to go down a staircase, but saw the cops coming up and tried to use the other one. But someone in the building pointed us out to the police.”
The names of the other Goldsmiths students who were arrested have not been released.
The Goldsmiths management said it would not be commenting on the arrests.
Student leader Haywood was in defiant mood today, and said students would try to “break the back” of the Coalition Government in the coming weeks and months, by targeting Liberal Democrat MPs in London. He believes yesterday’s protest marks a watershed in national resistance to the government’s spending cuts. “The perception that the English just drink tea and do not protest is over,” he said. “We occupied the heart of Government. We intend to break the back of the Lib Dems in the coming weeks – we are going to make them pay a big political price.”
Well Done James!!!! Go on Goldsmiths
How sad. One would have hoped lecturers would have more intelligence than to support the dangerous antics of anarchists and thugs. What do they imagine will be achieved through this criminal behaviour? OK – they’ve got massive news coverage for their opinions but the law-abiding majority in the country will regard their opinions as irrelevant – and will also feel that government money spent on the education of these hooligans is money down the drain..
Well done James you’ve got our support!! the violence against our education system is to big to ignore and it is the silencing of the student voice that has lead to this. . . If anyone wants to point fingers I’ve got an address it’s
10 downing street.
London,
SW1A 2AA
I’m a goldsmiths student, I think the proposed cuts are horrendous and I am definitely against the Brownes report. However i think if anything “silenced the student voice” it was the violence that took place at the protest on Wednesday. The fact is that the violence will be used as an excuse not to listen to the message that was trying to be conveyed during the protest. I’m glad that the university as a whole is not condoning the violence that has occurred, but I have to say it deeply upset me that Goldsmiths has been associated and technically a part of this behaviour. There are other ways of overcoming this problem. If the government is violently attacking our education and this is wrong (which it is) let us not stoop to their level. Peaceful protest can achieve, it can work and I believe that the violence and occupation at conservative HQ damaged rather than benefitted our cause.
Since when did The Charities Commision constitute “The Heart of Government” ? They are the main tenants in Millbank Tower. The Conservatives moved out 6 months ago.
ronnie – what a relief that there are thoughtful, intelligent, civilised students such as yourself at Goldsmiths. It is people like you who will win support for your cause.
I feel that in many ways the events that took place at Millbank on that day were possibly the best thing that could have happened. I’m sorry I’m don’t advocate violence but these students had hearts and a whole lot of passion for the cause, the fact is that a few broken windows and a few scratches/bruises will never truly reflect the loss of an educated society. In my opinion Nick Clegg should resign if we are going to have a conservative party running the country I want to know that upfront, the guy needs to get a pair of balls as the people who demonstrated at Millbank on this day, we needs to stand up for the rights of the working class, as if he doesn’t, we will have to do it for ourselves and sometimes violence is the only answer. Shock tactics, you have to make people listen and proof of this is that Millbank is all that many people will remember from that day it was a pivital moment in the fight of education. In a way I feel that students were saying, ‘If I’m not entitled to an education – there is no future for me’ personally feel this is exactly what they demonstrated and I couldn’t agree more.
If I can’t get a job, throw me in prison the way things are going I’d probably eat better meals and recieve better healthcare. AMEN.