Saturday 23rd October 2010

Location: Cambridge City Centre
Reason: Proposed cuts to public spending
Turnout: Over 500 protestors

The protest, held in conjunction with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) began at noon outside the Parkside fire station and marched into Cambridge city centre to attend a rally at the Guildhall in Market Square. Protests surrounded the release of the Comprehensive Spending Review in which George Osborne aims to save the country £83bn in the next year. CUSU expressed concern about how the wider cuts will hurt students, arguing that they will result in “the destruction of the higher education budget.” A CUSU spokesperson said, “The 75 per cent cuts to the teaching budget, including the elimination of all funding for arts, humanities and social sciences, represent the most damaging assault on our university education system we have ever seen.” CUSU also expressed anxiety over the cutting of Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) which could “severely damage” the access work done by the University.

Friday 5th November 2010

Location: Cambridge City CentreReason: Raising of the cap on tuiton fees to £9,000 per yearTurnout: Between 200 and 400

Students from Cambridge and ARU moved through the centre to Great St Mary’s. Addressing the crowd were leading members of CUSU, Cambridge MP Julian Huppert and Cambridge Labour candidate Daniel Zeichner. CUSU President, Rahul Mansigani said, “CUSU has a strong message: we don’t want cuts; we want an education that is fair and free for all”. Much anger was expressed towards the Liberal Democrats: “The Lib Dems made a promise to us. The fact that they have turned around and completely contradicted everything they initially said, I’m sorry I find that quite frankly spineless. We will show the government we will not accept the changes to higher education funding and together if we stand united the Government cannot ignore our voice.”

Saturday 6th November 2010

Location: Vodafone Shop, Grand Arcade
Reason: Vodafone’s alleged £6 billion tax exemption
Turnout: 35 activists

Three people were arrested after protestors occupied and forced the closure of the Vodafone outlet in the Grand Arcade. Activists converged on the shop in a demonstration organised by the Cambridge Action Network (CAN) as part of a nationwide protest against Vodafone’s alleged £6 billion tax exemption. Bea Patrick, a member of the CAN and student at Newnham, told Varsity, “We walked into the Vodafone store in the Arcade and started handing out leaflets and chanting, informing customers of the tax-dodge.” A third-year philosophy student at King’s said, “we were demonstrating to say that the Government should be coming down hard on corporations like Vodafone as opposed to making cuts that hit the poor and the vulnerable.”

Wednesday 10th November 2010

Location: London
Reason: Proposed cuts to public spending
Turnout: 52,000

Nearly 400 Cambridge Students attended the National Union of Students (NUS) demonstration in London. A crowd of nearly 52,000 people, according to NUS figures, gathered at the mostly peaceful protests in central London. But a small wing of around 200 protestors, including some Cambridge students, clashed with police and stormed Conservative Party headquarters. Protestors broke windows, waved anarchist flags and started a bonfire in the courtyard of the building, resulting in a standoff with police who attempted to clear the area by force, armed with batons. Organisers of the protest condemned the vandalism.