The People's Assembly Against Austerity | |
 People's Assembly logo | |
| Formation | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Type | Pressure group |
| Headquarters | London |
Key people | Steve Turner Nick McCarthy Alex Gordon John Rees[1] Laura Pidcock Lindsey German Ramona McCartney Fran Heathcote Paula Peters Andy Bain |
| Website | https://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/ |
ThePeople's Assembly Against Austerity (also known asThe People's Assembly) is a political organisation based in the United Kingdom that was originally set up to end and reverse the country's government-institutedausterity programme.
The People's Assembly was launched in 2013 to bring together the various progressive left trade unions, campaigns, and activists in a movement against austerity. It aimed to "push the arguments against austerity" that it saw as missing from British politics at that time, and to fight for those people it saw as being hit by Government policies, includinglow-paid workers,disabled people,unemployed people, theyoung,black,minority andethnic groups and women.[2]
Its current National Secretary is former Labour MPLaura Pidcock.[3][4]
The People's Assembly Against Austerity's original aim was "to convene a wide cross-sectional opposition to austerity politics spanning a field from trade unions to student movements".[5] Though the movement didn't put forward a large number of policy positions it advocated higher taxes on the rich.[6]
Social media has been a large part of the organisation's attempt to build a coalition between trade unions and other civil organisations.[5] Women's lived experience of austerity and its economic consequences are widely used by the organisation in constructing arguments,[7] as with disabled people.[8]
The movement was originally formed out of a frustration with the Labour Party and its new leaderEd Miliband positioning on austerity and on welfare.[9] It was launched with an open letter published inThe Guardian in February 2013, backed by public figures such asRobert Griffiths,Tony Benn,Len McCluskey andJeremy Corbyn MP.[10]
A press conference was held on 26 March 2013 in London where speakers includedCaroline Lucas MP, journalistOwen Jones,[11][12] comedianMark Steel,[13] then Labour MPKaty Clark, comedian and disabled activistFrancesca Martinez,Steve Turner ofUnite andZita Holbourne representing Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC).
On 22 June 2013, more than 4,000 people attended a conference at Westminster Central Hall in London.[14] This followed meetings and rallies across the country including Glasgow, Nottingham, Newcastle,[15] Manchester,[16] Sheffield, Bristol,[17] Pembrokeshire,[18] Brighton & Hove,[19] Southend, Derby, Leicester, North London and South East London.
Following localized group discussions held at the London conference in 2013, local activist groups have been forming and holding meetings across the UK,[20] with the aim of uniting and strengthening existing campaign groups in local areas with the People's Assembly movement. Delegations from the regional groups were expected to join a national mass protest outside theConservative Party conference in Manchester on 29 September 2013 and an organised day of civil disobedience across the UK on 5 November 2013.[21]
In 2014 the People's Assembly established a new forum called theWomen's Assembly Against Austerity, after people noted the large male representation of men at committees. The new forum attracted feminist activists from groups likeAssociation of Indian Women, theNational Assembly of Women,Abortion Rights,Women Unite, theblack student campaign and theCND.[22]
The People's Assembly organised a demonstration which took place on 21 June 2014, marching from outside theBBC Trust's Portland Place offices to Parliament Square.[23] Organizers claimed up to 50,000 demonstrated in central London. Speakers included, among others, comediansRussell Brand,Kate Smurthwaite,Mark Steel andFrancesca Martinez, Labour MPsDiane Abbott andJeremy Corbyn, Green Party MPCaroline Lucas,Lindsey German of theStop the War Coalition,Kate Hudson fromCND, and, then mayor ofTower Hamlets,Lutfur Rahman.[24]Class War,AFed andIWW activists denounced the march during it with placards and banners.[6]
As well as putting on national events, the majority of work is carried out by the local People's Assemblies, which were either founded after the founding People's Assembly, or incorporate pre-existing local anti-cuts groups. These have ranged from People's Question Times, on anti-austerity issues and usually with well known public figures; local demonstrations, regular leafleting, and support for all anti-austerity campaigns in local areas.
In 2015 the first edition of the People's Manifesto was published, articulating anti-austerity policies.
One of the key goals of the People's Assembly movement as published in the Draft Statement is "To make government abandon itsausterity programme. If it will not it must be replaced with one that will."[25]
On 20 June 2015, a People's Assembly organised an anti-austerity rally in London, which was attended by thousands of people.[26]Jeremy Corbyn,MP forIslington North spoke at the rally during hiscampaign to become Labour leader.[27]
The success of Corbyn's campaign to becomeLeader of the Labour party and the rise ofMomentum saw the anti-austerity politics of the People's Assembly absorbed into the Labour Party.[28] Momentum then received more funding, more political backing and more media interest than the People's Assembly.[28] TheFinancial Times argued that the rallies organised by the People's Assembly "sowed the seeds for the rise ofCorbynism two years later."[29]
On 16 April 2016, the National People's Assembly led a further national demonstration labelled the "March for Health, Homes, Jobs, Education".[30] More specifically, such causes as a fully funded and publicly owned NHS, ending privatisation, scrapping tuition fees, and ending the marketisation of education. It has been reported that the march was attended by 50,000 to 150,000[31] protesters, who marched from London'sEuston Road toTrafalgar Square.
During the2017 general election, the People's Assembly operated as a non-partisan campaign group. They created podcasts, crowdfunded billboards targeting the Conservative party, supported the protest song Liar Liar GE2017 and used their presence online to publicise hashtag campaigns such as #ManifestoOfMisery onTwitter.[32][33]
At the 2018Conservative Party Conference, then Prime MinisterTheresa May declared that "austerity is over" and there would be an increase in public investment.[34][35] In response to this the People's Assembly launched a tour of the UK called "Britain is Broken" supported by theDaily Mirror and trade unions to cover the impact of austerity measures taken by the government.[36][37]
In June 2019 the PAAA was involved innation-wide demonstrations against Donald Trump's visit to the United Kingdom, in association with other social movements.[38]
In September to October 2019 the Conservative governmentprorogued parliament and received heavy political, legal and grassroots opposition. It prompted protests across the UK with thousands present at each, including international protests composed of both British expats and solidarity protesters. Though the initial protests were organised byAnother Europe Is Possible, The People's Assembly organised protests for the first day MPs went into parliament after the summer break.[39][40]
Following a series of prominent political events in the UK – the defeat of the Labour Party at the2019 general election, theelection ofKeir Starmer as leader of the Labour Party and theCOVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown to contain the virus – the People's Assembly started to reorganise online mass video calls and meetups, with former LabourMPLaura Pidcock (who became the organisation's National Secretary)[4] andKen Loach being regulars.[41][3]
Throughout 2020 there were examples of local People's Assembly groups in England such as Didcot,[42] Cambridge[43] and Calderdale[44] collaborating with other groups to oppose austerity and lack of future investment in communities and campaign on climate change and social justice. This included partnerships with local politicians and groups such asExtinction Rebellion,Stop the War Coalition,Disabled People Against Cuts andMomentum. People's Assembly in Wales during 2020 campaigned for free school meals for primary-age pupils,[45] then in 2022 launched a Health campaign named Our NHS - Born in Wales.[46]
The People's Assembly planned rallies and demonstrations across the country for Saturday 17 October 2020 in protest at the government's handling of coronavirus and what the PAAA believe will be another wave of austerity.[4]
The organisation has been backed by majortrade unions and theTrade Union Congress,[3][5] such asUnite,UNISON,NEU,CWU,FBU,NUT,PCS andRMT.[47][5] It has also received support from numerous campaigning groups and individuals of political parties, these parties include: theCommunist Party of Britain, theGreen Party of England and Wales, theLabour Party andLeft Unity.[10][47]
Some from the anarchist movement have been disappointed by the People's Assembly Against Austerity's focus on attempting to shift the policies of theLabour Party to the left.[48]
Citations
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