Down With This Sort of Thing

My friend Layla's mum, Malka at the march today. Her placard was made by my mate Richard. He himself had a nice - and much-photographed - Victor Meldrew sign.

This was the biggest march I've been on in Nottingham by far - really good turnout. It was a great feeling taking over the streets for a little while and seeing the strength of feeling. Passersby and motorists stuck in traffic jams were mostly really supportive too.

I think it's extremely naive to think that our world is not hugely influenced by powerful elites who act in their own interests and not in the interests of the vast majority of the population. They have an interest in maintaining the status quo and discrediting any movement or action that threatens their power and wealth.

In light of this I think it is vital to take collective action. We cannot challenge these pernicious elites, and the system which maintains them, individually. We have to act together as our strength resides in our numbers and the fact that the reality these people have created cannot exist if we don't go along with it. To me this is the main point of being in a trade union.

Cameron and Osbourne - particularly with a lot of the rhetoric they've come out with in the last few days - seem to me to be blatant representatives of these elites and to have an agenda for which 'cutting the deficit' is a convenient excuse.

The powers that influence much of the media work hard to discredit and stigmatise ideas such as 'socialism'. I am a socialist because I care about people and I don't accept the cynical view of human nature that the philosophy of Cameron and others seems to be rooted in.

Anyway, I've said my piece! Channel the anger!