On 24 November, thousands of school, college and university students erupted onto the streets of Newcastle, protesting against the education cuts and fees which began under Labour and have been further escalated by the Condem coalition.
Students took over roads across the city centre for over two hours, stopping traffic and with little opposition from the police. The police Forward Intelligence (FIT) teams were on the streets however, taking footage of demonstrators to add to their databases for future use. On the second trip to Monument FRFI activists organised an ‘open megaphone’ at the centre of the protest, which demonstrators used to express their opposition to the cuts. Students Against Cuts, which was founded this week to coordinate the walk-outs at Heaton Manor School, Gosforth High School, Longbenton Community College, Newcastle College and Gateshead College, released the following statement ahead of the protest:
