Protest, law and order in the twentieth century

146Learning outcomesBy the end of this topic you should be able to:

fi nd out about some of those involved in • the leadership of the campaign against the poll tax

evaluate the events of 31 March 1990. •

9.3 The poll tax protests: the Battle of Trafalgar Square, 31 March 1990

The All-Britain Anti Poll Tax Federation (ABAPTF) As the movement grew, with APTUs linking up to form regional federations, an All-Britain Federation was set up (in 1989) to organise a more national campaign. At fi rst, the All-Britain Federation organised a series of regional protest demonstrations to take place just before the poll tax was implemented in England and Wales.

In the South West alone, over 50,000 people took part in local demonstrations in places such as Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol, Bath and Stroud. Wherever local councils met to set the rate of the new poll tax, protests took place. Some were peaceful; others, like the one in Bristol, saw clashes between protesters and police.

As well as organising local and regional demonstrations, the All-Britain Federation decided to hold a national demonstration in London on 31 March 1990.

LeadershipUnlike the other protests covered in this topic, the campaign against the poll tax did not have many prominent national leaders. The All-Britain Federation grew out of the local organisations, rather than leading them, and its leaders represented lots of different interest groups, including left-wing parties like the Militant Tendency, the Socialist Workers Party, members of APTU federations and even extreme left-wing anarchist groups. There was inevitably some

disagreement about strategy between all these different groups. Most organisation and support continued to be at the local level.

The events of 31 March 1990When the All-Britain Federation called for a national demonstration at Trafalgar Square in London on 31 March 1990, their organisers had no idea that as many as 200,000 protesters would turn up on the day: they were expecting 20,000. Trafalgar Square only had capacity for 60,000. However, the police refused a request to change the venue.

The fi rst violenceInitially, there was low-profi le policing, and the crowd, a mixture of young people, families with their children and old-age pensioners, was good-natured. Then, about 20 protesters staged a

Activities

1 Study Source A. What can you learn about the demonstrators from looking at this source?

Source A: Some of the crowd who demonstrated in London against the poll tax on 31 March 1990.

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The poll tax protests 1990 (Political protest)

147

The majority of those who became embroiled in the running battles had nothing to do with our protest.

Source D: Comments by Tommy Sheridan, the Chair of the All-Britain Federation, at a press conference called immediately after the march.

sit-down outside Downing Street, after they had been refused permission to hand in a petition at Number 10. A small minority then tried to get over the barricades at the end of Downing Street. Demonstrators later claimed that the police deliberately provoked the demonstrators.

Another 300 people then decided to sit down in protest. Increasingly violent clashes began between police and a minority of the demonstrators, mainly anarchists (from groups such as Class War) and supporters of far-left groups such as the Militant Tendency and the Socialist Workers Party.

From violence to riot When mounted riot police baton-charged the crowd, bottles, rocks and sticks were thrown at the police. As the rest of the crowd moved away, about 3,000 demonstrators remained and a major riot broke out, which spread to much of the West End: cars were damaged, shop windows were smashed and shops were looted.

By the end of the day, 341 people had been arrested and 542 police offi cers had been injured. There were no offi cial records of demonstrators injured, but some put the fi gure into thousands, some of them ordinary people who simply got in the way of the police who thought they were demonstrators.

Activities

Study Sources A–E in this topic.2 What do the sources suggest about the policing

of the demonstration?3 Would you expect these events to increase support

for the poll tax protest or for the government?4 Source D says that the violence had nothing to

do with the offi cial poll tax protest. If so, was the lack of central organisation of the protest a weakness in the campaign?

Source C: A protester kicks the window of a fast-food store in Lower Regent Street.

Source E: A photograph of police in riot gear clashing with protesters in Trafalgar Square, during the riot of 31 March 1990.

A man in a wheelchair was attacked and arrested by the police, separated from his wheelchair and thrown into a police van. A woman was arrested and, in front of the crowd, stripped of her clothes. Both arrests angered and incensed the crowd. It was an obvious police provocation of a peaceful demonstration.

Source B: An extract from the Trafalgar Square Defendants’ Campaign’s legal meeting minutes, 27 May 1990.

• Although different groups claimed leadership of the poll tax protests, there was no overall control.

• The police response to the demonstration on 31 March 1990 aggravated tensions.

• A minority of demonstrators were responsible for the rioting.

Summary

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