Police push demonstrator against the police pay demonstration at the start of the march
Public sector pay is controlled by government policies, but unlike most others, the police are not allowed to strike. The government decision to phase in their pay award enraged many of them and led to a protest march of 20,000 through London. All those taking part were doing so in off-duty and in plain clothes - although of course there were police on duty policing the event. It was a rather drab event on a drab day, enlivened mainly by the presence of a few small groups protesting against the police. Media interest centred around the presence on the march of BNP Mayoral candidate Richard Barnbrook, although largely ignoring Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick, until a few months ago a high-profile officer. Many of his former colleagues ignored Paddick too, perhaps because of his liberal views. Press and photographers aren't popular with the police either, and I was jostled and sworn at as I photographed. But 99% of the demonstration was well-behaved and just rather dull. How many pictures can you take of a crowd in white baseball caps? Not only the baseball caps were white; the crowd contained very few black faces. There were far more among those policing the event, let alone those watching as it went through the streets around Victoria station. Around 30 protesters from 'FitWatch' and 'Class War' held up the start of the march by almost 30 minutes, while a roadside 'Professional Protesters Stall' set up by Space Hijackers offered much-needed advice on how to protest, offerering various chants and placards, as well as other materials. Although a few of the police were amused, others were obviously angered, although clearly the demonstration as a whole was in need of advice.
Size: 5010px × 3354px
Location: Park Lane, Mayfair, London, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: anarchist, banner, caps, class, crowd, demonstrate, demonstration, demonstrator, fitwatch, london, march, officers, pay, phasing, police, policing, public, sector, war
