[size=14pt]Student protest over fees turns violent[/size]
Protesters smash windows and get onto roof of Tory HQ as estimated 50,000 attend London rally
Paul Lewis, Jeevan Vasagar, Rachel Williams and Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 10 November 2010 17.19 GMT Article history

Protesters smashed windows and waved anarchist flags from the roof of the building housing the Conservative party headquarters as the fringe of a vast rally against university funding cuts turned violent.

The scale of the London protest defied expectations, with an estimated 50,000 turning out to vent their anger at government plans to raise tuition fees while cutting the state grant for university teaching.

Protesters who broke off from the main route of the march occupied the lobby of the building at 30 Millbank, in central London, where police wielding batons clashed with a crowd hurling placard sticks, eggs and bottles.

Activists who had masked their faces with scarves traded punches with police to chants of "Tory scum". The exchanges were recorded by broadcasters' helicopter-mounted cameras and protesters' mobile phones.

Meanwhile, those at the front of the march watched videos and heard impassioned speeches against the cuts. Footage of the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, promising to scrap tuition fees was greeted by abusive chants.

Clegg, who deputised for David Cameron at prime minister's questions today, came under sustained attack in the Commons over tuition fees.

Meanwhile, one student won an unexpected concession from the coalition as Cameron, on a visit to China, said raising tuition fees for UK undergraduates would mean there was less pressure to charge very high fees to overseas students.

In answer to a question from a Chinese student, the prime minister said: ""In the past, we have pushed up the fees on overseas students as a way of keeping them down for domestic students.

"Yes, foreign students will still pay a significant amount of money – but we should be able to bring that growth under control."

The huge protest was organised by the NUS and the lecturers' union the UCU. Both unions have attacked coalition plans to raise tuition fees as high as £9,000 while making 40% cuts to university teaching budgets.

The higher fees will be introduced for undergraduates from 2012 if the proposals are sanctioned by the Commons, with a vote due before Christmas.

The NUS president, Aaron Porter, today condemned the actions of "those who are here to cause trouble."

He tweeted: "Disgusted that the actions of a minority of idiots are trying to undermine 50,000 who came to make a peaceful protest."

The NUS president said the march was the biggest student demonstration in generations, telling protesters: "We're in the fight of our lives ,  we face an unprecedented attack on our future before it has even begun.

"They're proposing barbaric cuts that would brutalise our colleges and universities."

This "miserable vision" would be resisted, he said, imploring students to take their protests to their constituencies and adding: "This is just the beginning ,  the resistance begins here."

Protesters who attacked the Millbank building used their banners to light a bonfire in the outside forecourt. Police drafted in the Territorial Support Group riot squad.

Liberal Democrat sources indicated that the party's headquarters, in nearby Cowley Street, had not been targeted.

At PMQs, the deputy Labour leader, Harriet Harman, said she hoped Clegg would go and tell the students protesting outside parliament how "fair" the government's plan was.

The Liberal Democrats fought the election on a manifesto promising to phase out tuition fees, and the party's MPs have signed a pledge to oppose any rise. The coalition agreement allows them to abstain in a Commons vote.

Harman said: "In April, he [Clegg] said that increasing tuition fees to £7,000 a year would be a disaster. What word would he use to describe fees of £9,000?"

Clegg claimed there was "consensus" across the parties about the need to reform the system. Harman replied: "None of us agree with tuition fees of £9,000 a year."

She said the rise in fees was not part of the effort to tackle the deficit, but was instead about Clegg "going along with Tory plans to shove the cost of higher education on to students and their families".

"We all know what it's like: you are at freshers' week, you meet up with a dodgy bloke and you do things that you regret," she said.

"Isn't it true he has been led astray by the Tories – isn't that the truth of it?"

Clegg insisted the government's plans were a "fair and progressive solution to a very difficult problem".

"The proposals we have put forward will mean that those who earn the least will pay much less than they do at the moment, those who earn the most will pay over the odds to provide a subsidy to allow people from poor backgrounds to go to university," he said.

Last month, the business secretary, Vince Cable – whose department includes universities – told the Commons the Lib Dems' pre-election pledge was "no longer feasible".

He said: "The roads to Westminster are littered with the skidmarks of political parties changing direction."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/nov/10/student-protest-fees-violent

Exploitative capitalism is on its lasts legs as it feeds on its own remains.
Capitalism needs to be people oriented, not feed on the people.

The coalition government was warned that the major players will be followed around and students protest when ever possible. I guess, this is just one of may incident to come.

Do I think capitalism is on its last leg? Probably not, the government just got this whole tution fee thing wrong in my opinion. I am not sure if it is a reflection of capitalism in its entirety. (But them I may be wrong, economics no be my strong point)

No, capitalism is not on its last legs, but the exploitative version that is practised in the UK is doomed.

Capitalism will from now on be more regulated with the greed of the powerful being supressed. It is in this that the UK govt is making huge errors and trying to protect the rich at the expense of the poor. What sort of government cuts housing benefits, raises tuition fees etc without creating any opportunities for businesses to grow and start up to take up the slack?

Oh. I get your point now. Apologies.

Yeah I agree with the point you raised. The only thing certain is that I do not see them winning the next general election. Having said that, the damage would have been done.

The sad fact is that these folks - Dave and co are all rich folks and while some of the cut may affect them, it will not dent them in anyway compared to the general public of the UK.

This is just the beginning.

With the way the ConLibs are handling the economy, there will be more protests this winter. Come January the triple whammy of higher VATs, Spending cuts and inflation will only make things worse.

Be careful what you want. Last time I checked, the people who voted for this govt weren't rich people. The British people voted for this and now we must deal with it. The Americans have also voted for the republicans, expect similar unrest due to cuts in govt spending across the Atlantic soon.

Actually the last election result was inconlusive, hence the coalition government. The season of unrests has just begun.

The NUS president said the march was the biggest student demonstration in generations

true that.

The british people did not vote for this contraption o. They voted primarily against Brown and his version of Labour. Some of us had hopes about the coalition because we thought the LibDems would be there to curb some of the more grotesque excesses of the tories. Sadly, Clegg seems to be happier just riding in his government issue jaguar rather than standing up for his principles.

Not too different from the states actually. The left just seems to be rolling over and allowing the rabid right to do as they please.

When even the normally placid brits start to riot then you know we have a problem. Expect french-style riots very soon!

When even the normally placid brits start to riot then you know we have a problem

true talk.

hasnt happened for quite a while now.

people [especially immigrants] had better be careful.

omo~fat:

The british people did not vote for this contraption o. They voted primarily against Brown and his version of Labour.

a vote against labor=a vote for conservatives. did you guys think the libdems will control the govt? or did you think they'll control the conservatives?

@pres - Sadly, you are right. That's the problem with our largely two party systems. No real choice. The libdems weren't quite big enough to really threaten. With their current performance, their base will have further reduced.

A lot of disenfranchised labour voters couldn't stomach voting Brown again. The natural alternative was to go further to the left with Clegg's party. No where enough people did and thus we ended up with this coalition contraption. Attempting to put a positive spin on a bad situation, we 'thought' the libdems would "man up". We were wrong!

Cameron is going to show us pepper before 2015.

cool cool, i hope they don't increase their tuitions . if na USA na, police, insurance companies/builders will be sending you bills for the destruction.

my school increased their tuition, no wahala. that na american style (pay or gerrout and go flip burgers)

See now all these left wing politicians doing about-turn,

Clegg that campaigned on tuition fees not going up a dime is now saying he was presumptuous when he signed onto that pledge.

Amazing what being in power does to people.

No principles rara.

There is nothing more wicked than ruining the future of students before they even start. During ma sisters time, tuition was completely free. They didn't even have student loans, they were given grants. By my time, I came out owing about 16k on student loans, while the next generation would owe 27k on tuition fees alone, before we even talk of student loan for living expenses.

omo~fat:

The british people did not vote for this contraption o. They voted primarily against Brown and his version of Labour.

You cannot vote against brown from from london. The only people that will vote against him are people in East Fife his constituency. You voted against Labour and your are ripping your vote.

Some of us had hopes about the coalition because we thought the LibDems would be there to curb some of the more grotesque excesses of the tories. Sadly, Clegg seems to be happier just riding in his government issue jaguar rather than standing up for his principles.

Nobody voted for the coalition, it was obvious their will be a hung parliament but most people felt Labour and Lib Dem will form the Govt but Clegg did otherwise cos of hatred against Brown Scotish origin. If Clegg has shame he will resign b4 summer if we still have this govt by April.

When even the normally placid brits start to riot then you know we have a problem. Expect french-style riots very soon!

You mean Greek style?

At long last it will benefit Labour as they will definitely win the next election and they will stay long b4 Tory smell No 10 again.

armyofone:

cool cool, i hope they don't increase their tuitions . if na USA na, police, insurance companies/builders will be sending you bills for the destruction.

my school increased their tuition, no wahala. that na american style (pay or gerrout and go flip burgers)

Tuition fees are increasing from £3000.00 to £9000.00 per annum.

presido1:

You cannot vote against brown from from london. The only people that will vote against him are people in East Fife his constituency. You voted against Labour and your are ripping your vote.

A vote for labour anywhere in the country would have been a vote for Gordon Brown. He was party leader.

Nobody voted for the coalition, it was obvious their will be a hung parliament but most people felt Labour and Lib Dem will form the Govt but Clegg did otherwise cos of hatred against Brown Scotish origin. If Clegg has shame he will resign b4 summer if we still have this govt by April.
You mean Greek style?

At long last it will benefit Labour as they will definitely win the next election and they will stay long b4 Tory smell No 10 again.

Wrong! - The british people precisely voted for the coalition. You're right, it was obvious and all the pre-election polls confirmed that we were headed for a hung parliament and people still voted that way.

I don't know where you got your idea that Clegg didn't go with Brown because of his scottish origin so I won't even try and refute that - sounds silly and made up to me though.

In election analysis, there is something called momentum - Given the way the thing ended up, it would have been criminal for Clegg to go with Labour after they lost over 100 seats in the election.

The only way a LAB-LibDem coalition would have worked would have been with a different labour leader. Gordon wasn't too keen on leaving, and even with all that sef, the Lab-libdem coalition still didnt have enough seats to form a stable government. They still needed the help of the much smaller parties, SNP, etc, So my friend things aren't so black and white.

presido1:

You cannot vote against brown from from london. The only people that will vote against him are people in East Fife his constituency. You voted against Labour and your are ripping your vote.
Nobody voted for the coalition, it was obvious their will be a hung parliament but most people felt Labour and Lib Dem will form the Govt but Clegg did otherwise cos of hatred against Brown Scotish origin. If Clegg has shame he will resign b4 summer if we still have this govt by April.
You mean Greek style?

At long last it will benefit Labour as they will definitely win the next election and they will stay long b4 Tory smell No 10 again.

Ironically, Cameron got the student vote. They thought it was all about surface stuff like looks and age, now they are getting it right in the eye! The UK under Cameron is your next 3rd World country; he will sell everything that moves and tax everything that breaths. Sadly, realisation has come too late for the students, I guess they'll be rioting even harder very soon.

Beaf:

Tuition fees are increasing from £3000.00 to £9000.00 per annum.

That is like foreign student fees.Can the british students cope

Graduates earn a premium over their lifetime compared to non-graduates. It's not asking too much that they pay the actual cost of their University education. Most people still don't get how deeply strained Western economies are. The West is in deep sh-t, but people don't know it yet.

^^The gap between graduate and non-graduate pay has been declining for many years now. Most youngsters are feeling like it doesn't make economic sense to go to uni when they look at some of the graduate salaries these days.

Secondly, I hope the students will give the Cons whatfor over this issue cos as far as I'm concerned, politicians have been taking the mick over university promises for the last 12 years. I'm sure Tony Blair promised not to scrap Uni grants, but he did, then he increased tuition ontop. Now fees are moving up to 9k. . . all this in the space of just 10 years!

Students must make a strong stand this time to ensure their sector is not seen as a soft touch when it comes to budget decisions. I wish to see their sector made as untouchable as the NHS.

asha 80:

That is like foreign student fees.Can the british students cope

It is actually £6000.00 with an upper limit of £9000.00 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11677862.
Even if we look at the £6000.00 figure which I'm sure no uni will charge, it isn't a small sum by any measure. The Uk is just screwing itself deeper and deeper into droppings, don't be shocked if in the next 15 - 20 years we are recieving British refugees and making yanga about it.

Students are now after Nick Cleggs head with what they call a "decapitation strategy." Damn!
Nick Cleggs negotiation treachery on tuition fees have been revealed in a Tory book.
I wager that the coalitions legs are bound to wobble and break in a few short weeks.

Not too different from the states actually. The left just seems to be rolling over and allowing the rabid right to do as they please.

FYI - a large segment of america is center-right. there is nothing much the left can't do if the populace choose to remain conservative.
an example of this is California the home of medicinal marijuana voting against the decriminalization of pot or idiots whining about obamacare while Big Pharma is posting huge profits.  

asking obama to become some liberal don in an heavily centrist country is political suicide.  even the democratic party is filled with centrists.   rural america is largely center-right.

Increase in tuition fees is/was inevitable. It was always a matter of matter but to deceive a group of people to garner votes is uncalled for.

Nick Clegg and the LibDem have successfully asked voters not to give a flying toss about them in the next election.  They are  responsible for this riot and many more to come. Nick Clegg and the LibDems have reneged on so many of their main promises which includes Trident and increase in tuition fees. It is obvious that students are behind the increased number of votes  garnered by the LibDems.

Oh well Nick, at least you had your chance.

Nick Clegg has destroyed his party in the pursuit of power.

Labour dissenters will never vote Lib Dem ever again

Every population gets the govt it deserves.

pres-elect:

Be careful what you want. Last time I checked, the people who voted for this govt weren't rich people. The British people voted for this and now we must deal with it. The Americans have also voted for the republicans, expect similar unrest due to cuts in govt spending across the Atlantic soon.

the british public did not vote for any party, it was a hung parlliament but sadly Mr Muppet [s][/s] Mr Clegg decided to go with the Tory Governement which means the end of the Lib-dems because they are going to be wipped out in the election which i suspect will be soon, d daft students need to get a life, smashing a building owned by the Tory government was bang out of order, am for peaceful protests but not smashing or throwing a fire cylinder @ the police officers, i hope those involved in the protest are thrown into jail for a very long time.

there will be more protests to come, yours truly will be joining in. The CONDEMS only care about the rich and the priviledged, sadly the poor and disabled will bear the bunts of the cuts.

Ibime:

Nick Clegg has destroyed his party in the pursuit of power.

Labour dissenters will never vote Lib Dem ever again

Nick Clegg is a disgrace, he's bn used by the tories and will be dumped by the tories in their own time, what planet is Mr Clegg on? power does weird things to people, he's sold his soul for a ministerial salary, a car and a driver car. Sadly Labour won't be in power for another 10yrs unless Mr Cameron falls out with Mr Murdoch ( the owner of The Sun , The News Of The World, The Times, The Sunday Times and Sky News) or the British Public who read the right wing newspapers wake up and smell the coffee, and realise they are bn manipulated and exploited by the Murdoch press.