Largest May Day March in London for Decades

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The Spirit of a Do-It-Yourself Revolution:
Largest May Day March in London for Decades

Summaries of Speeches at Trafalgar Square May Day Rally

Birmingham May Day

The British Government’s Middle East Initiative

Some 20,000 demonstrators packed Trafalgar Square on May First in the biggest and broadest May Day march for decades, some said for 50 years.

The bulk had marched from historic Clerkenwell Green, while thousands more converged on the Square from other directions in smaller groups. On a bright sunny day, the jam-packed Green had been a sea of red and orange flags and highly coloured trade union banners. The march was distinguished by the carnival atmosphere, by its militancy, and by the wide spectrum of people involved. Trade union contingents, notably from ASLEF, UNISON, T&G and MSF, youth and student groups, Globalise Resistance and other anti-capitalist and anti-globalisation campaigns, political parties and groups, pensioners, peace and environmental activists and contingents from national minority communities, particularly the Turkish, Kurdish, Palestinian and other Muslim communities, all marched as one.

The slogans of the march were For Trade Union Rights, For Human Rights and International Solidarity. From the placards and from the content of the speeches at Trafalgar Square it was clear that the main themes taken up were opposition to privatisation, to neo-liberal globalisation and to war. Tony Benn from amongst the speakers on Nelson's Column put his finger on the spirit of the hour when he said that the lesson of people's struggles was that to achieve something you must do it yourself.

Activists from RCPBML distributed the Party’s Call: The Time is Now to Seize the Initiative! Stop Paying the Rich! End Aggression, State Terrorism and War! Step Up the Fight to Create the Alternative!

The attempt by the media to create hysteria about "violence" and intimidate potential marchers failed miserably. The huge police presence and frequently provocative police tactics acted only as a spur to the marchers to stand tall, voice their demands and celebrate International Workers Day in a fashion unprecedented in recent times. Only a few scuffles resulted from the constant police harassment of some contingents and a mere handful of arrests took place. At Trafalgar Square a festive mood prevailed in the sunshine and speakers were cheered to the echo.

Barry Camfield, Assistant General Secretary of the T&G, opened the speeches by saying that the sun shines on the righteous. He spoke of the rise of fascism throughout Europe and said there was no place for fascism in Britain. He spoke against the Labour government, saying the trade union movement must fight to retain the heart of the labour movement. He called for new workers’ rights, for sustainable development and for a new world order, but not one on the coat tails of the US as New Labour envisaged. He called for repeal of the anti-trade union laws and to loud acclaim praised the youth for their courage and vision.

Helen Salmon from NUS, speaking in a personal capacity, said students were united against the system, demanding education as a right not a commodity. She said students were disgusted with Britain bombing millions in our name. She spoke against privatisation and against the Israeli massacres. She said that if Britain and the US attacked Iraq again demonstrations would take place across the country.

John McDonnell MP said the era of New Labour was grinding to a halt. He said the policies of Thatcher had not worked in her time and were not working now. He said the message of the march to the government was Peace not War, No Attack on Iraq, End the Murder of Palestinians. He called for investment in public services not privatisation. He said globalisation did not feed the starving millions. He called for international solidarity and socialism.

Anita Halpin NUJ, speaking for the organisers, the South East TUC, the joint chair of the rally with Bob Tennant of the Greater London Association of Trades Union Councils, said millions around the world were demonstrating their solidarity today.

Chris Nineham of Globalise Resistance said that ordinary people felt utterly betrayed by New Labour and the mainstream politicians. He said New Labour were in the pockets of big business. He said it was to our shame that Tony Blair was the champion of corporate globalisation, neo-liberalism, big business and war. He said that with all the talk of "violence" the government was trying to criminalise dissent. We will not be kicked off the streets, he said. How could they talk of violence considering world wide poverty, the "structural adjustment" programmes of IMF and World Bank, the selling of public services to private concerns, the refusal to condemn Israeli atrocities, the plan to attack Iraq! He said Globalise Resistance and anti-capitalists were marching today with trade unionists and others because global and local interests were linked. We were all fighting the putting of profits before people. A great coalition was developing to challenge the Blair agenda. Keep fighting for a better world, he ended.

Ruth Winters, Vice President of the Fire Brigades Union, said public sector workers were at the heart of society. They were sick and tired of the erosion of services. It was they who had "scars on their backs" not Blair. It was he who was the dogmatist. Her union said no to privatisation. She said the FBU had a proud history of internationalism. They opposed the arms trade and the bombing of Afghanistan, supported the Palestinians demands and supported trade unionists being oppressed and even assassinated in countries such as Colombia. She said workers must stop begging at General Elections. If Blair can find money for war, he must find money for life.

Andrew Murray of the Stop the War Coalition said of all the issues today none was more important than bloody imperialist war, continuing in Afghanistan and planned for Iraq. He said these were not wars for democracy, as the attempted overthrow of the government in Venezuela showed, as did the arming of Israeli massacres. It was a war for empire, for a "new colonialism", a "new imperialism", in the words of a Blair advisor. He denounced the presence of British troops in the Balkans, in Afghanistan and possibly soon in Iraq, and in Palestine doing Sharon’s bidding. He said opposition to war was growing among MPs and on the streets. He said the marchers spoke for the majority in Britain in opposing war. He called for strikes should Britain attack Iraq. Stop the warmongers, he said, the world of labour demands a world of peace.

Diane Abbott MP said we must not be frightened or intimidated off the streets. She said there must be no victimisation of asylum seekers, immigrants and refugees. She said she was ashamed that a Labour Home Secretary should deliberately speak of refugees "swamping" the country. She said all immigrants had common cause with the asylum seekers. She spoke against Israeli atrocities in Palestine and called for the government to impose sanctions on Israel. She said the march gave a clear message to Tony Blair: No to Privatisation, No to Globalisation, No to War!

Former MP Tony Benn said what unites people all over the world on May Day is the desire to control our own futures and build a world meeting our needs. Today control was by bankers and the military, especially the US military. It was destroying human life and ruining the environment. He said for the first time resources existed to solve all problems, with health, education, housing for all. This is the choice, and it is being taken up by the youth. Recalling his own youth, he said all the hopes of 1945 of a new international order, of peace, democracy, had been dashed with the threats again of imperialism, fascism and war. Recalling the struggle against Franco, against Suez, against the Poll Tax, for the miners, he said the lesson is the people must do it themselves. Stand up, he said, the world belongs to us!

A representative of Palestine Solidarity Campaign spoke of the suffering and of the heroic struggle of the Palestinian people. He thanked the marchers for their support and called for a huge mobilisation for the demonstration on May 18.

Peter Bunting of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Northern Ireland) praised the growing coalition for the march’s demands. He spoke of the struggle against sectarianism in the north of Ireland, of the murder of journalist Martin O’Hagan and post office worker Daniel McColgan.

Jeremy Corbyn MP said this was one of the best May Day demonstrations of recent years. It had brought together so many traditions. He spoke against a world dominated by the greed of oil companies, of Ministers, of arms traders, of the sheer brutality of a system which cared more for profit than human life. He said there must be no compromise with racism and fascism. May Day was a time of hope, he said, a time of uniting in the certainty of a better world.

Carlos Gonzalez of the Colombian university workers’ union gave a revolutionary salute to the rally from all Colombian workers. He spoke of the suffering and struggles of the people of Latin America and the great example of Cuba. He denounced the state terror which had resulted in the deaths of thousands of Colombian trade unionists. He saluted the international solidarity against privatisation, neo-liberal globalisation and war, in particular against the US Plan Colombia.

A representative of the Kurdish Federation spoke of the suffering of the Kurdish people at the hands of the Turkish fascist state, the banning of the language and Kurdish names. He spoke of their struggle for national rights, for democracy and for the right to discuss their future.

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and Civil Service Union, said that workers were marching to affirm May Day against injustice and intimidation. They represented a movement that was unstoppable. He spoke against the occupation of Palestinian land and Israeli war crimes. He called on the trade union movement to take a stand against a war against Iraq in our name. He called for no voice for fascists or racists. He spoke against privatisation and the scapegoating of public sector workers. He called for the repeal of all anti-trade union legislation.

As co-chair, Anita Halpin concluded the rally with a call for Peace, for Justice, for No War In Our Name, and for Trade Union Rights.

Mayday 2002

Defend Public Services
Stop the War
Our World Is Not For Sale
No to Globalisation
Another World Is Possible
No to Privatisation
Withdraw from the EU
No to the Single Currency
Stop Paying the Rich, Increase Investment in Social Programmes
Vote for Alternative Candidates

March and Rally

Saturday 4th May

Assemble 12.30 in Chamberlain Square

March through city centre

Rally at 1.30 pm in Chamberlain Square

On April 29, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, made a statement to the House of Commons on what he referred to as "recent developments" in the Middle East.

In his speech, the Foreign Secretary acknowledged that many in Britain, including Members of Parliament and religious leaders, had "expressed their concerns" regarding Israeli state terrorism against the Palestinian people. He even felt it necessary to refer to Palestine as "the Occupied Territories". But he did not utter one word of condemnation for the criminal acts of the Israeli government which, with the support of the US and Britain in particular, has openly flouted international law and the resolutions of the UN Security Council and unleashed such savagery against the Palestinian people. The Foreign Secretary only went as far as expressing his "serious concern" that the Israeli government had refused to allow the UN fact-finding mission to enter Jenin and investigate the destruction of the refugee camp and the reported slaughter of hundreds of its inhabitants by the Israeli Defence Force.

The Foreign Secretary was rather more eager to talk about the Anglo-American initiative which, it is claimed, will allow the release of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from his headquarters in Ramallah, which has been attacked and besieged by Israeli forces since March 29. Once again Jack Straw uttered no word of condemnation for these criminal actions of Israeli Zionism, that have been part of a wave of terror designed to force the Palestinian people to give up their just struggle. Rather than condemn such crimes, the US and Britain have proposed that in exchange for the release of Yasser Arafat, six Palestinian men implicated in military action against the Zionist State will be removed from Arafat’s headquarters to be detained in a prison in Jericho. Under the initiative, Britain and the US have proposed that they will provide "a small number of supervisory wardens to oversee the men’s detention".

Apparently the British government wishes to claim the credit for this proposal, which once again seeks to equate the crimes of the Israeli Zionism with the liberation struggle of the heroic Palestinian people. The Foreign Secretary claimed that Tony Blair had first made such a proposal to the Israeli government as long ago as last November.

Already preparations have been made to implement the proposal, which allows further British and US interference in the region and which is designed to create conditions in order that pressure can be brought on Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian people to end their Intifada.

The Israeli government stands condemned by world opinion for its crimes against the Palestinian people, but Britain’s government along with the US stands condemned too. While Britain and the US pose as the greatest peacemakers, the latest Anglo-American initiative shows yet again that US imperialism and the British government stand behind Israeli Zionism and are fully implicated in the ongoing slaughter of the Palestinian people.