Half a million vs. a handful

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Today was a huge success for the trade union movement, and an important milestone for Ed Miliband. Around half a million people marched today to oppose the needless and brutal cuts being made by the government. But you’d hardly know that, because the mainstream media would rather focus on the militant and violent minority. They number barely a handful, but the combination of their violent actions and a lack of media balance means it’ll be them you’ll hear about, and that’s a huge shame.

The march we were on today (as opposed to the march the media wanted to cover) was peaceful and good natured. This was a carnival, not a riot. This was ordinary people marching to defend their jobs, their schools, their hospitals and their libraries. The mood was respectful but determined.

Hundreds of thousands made it into Hyde Park to hear Ed Miliband deliver a broadly well received speech. He had the hardest gig of the day, but he played his hand well. He balanced the need for some cuts with a message of solidarity with those who are suffering. He placed the march today in the long history of labour movement struggles. He argued that this movement is one of the “mainstream majority”.

It was a good speech. Not a great one, but it did the job that needed to be done today. He went out of his way to urge a peaceful demonstration, but the shameful actions of broadcasters sought to portray his message – and the message of the vast majority protesting today – as the opposite. The BBC and Sky both left Miliband’s speech to focus on a few anarchists doing what they always do, cause trouble, seek attention and detract from the peaceful actions of other protesters. We can’t let the actions of a tiny few overshadow the actions of a huge number of peaceful protesters.

I’m already on the record saying that marches don’t solve anything. This one won’t. But today the majority of protesters backed Ed Miliband, protested peacefully and sent a powerful message to the government. Millions oppose these cuts. The protesters come from all walks of life. And by and large they’re united.

Don’t believe the media hype – today was peaceful, and successful.

You can help fight the media bias of the news networks by using the hashtags #shameonsky and #shameonbbc on Twitter. You can join our facebook group, and write to the BBC here, and Sky here.