Protest planned to oust Cameron should Tories try to occupy Downing Street
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Version 0 of 1. A post-election protest has been planned to oust David Cameron from power by a group claiming that the Conservatives are planning to “occupy Downing Street” even if they do not win a majority. The event, organised by anti-austerity group the People’s Assembly, is scheduled to take place on Saturday outside No 10. A Facebook page for the protest, which has more than 3,000 people already confirmed to attend, makes the claim that Cameron’s party are “planning to declare that they are the legitimate government and have the right to form an administration”.Organisers cite a recent Times editorial which urged Cameron to “occupy Downing Street” regardless of whether he has a majority in parliament, stating that this would be a “constitutional coup” against the wishes of the electorate. The group wrote: “The Tories and their supporters in the press are preparing a post-election plan to stay in office even if Labour and the SNP have more seats in parliament. We cannot allow the Tories to get away with using a flagrant abuse of power to impose the most severe austerity this country has seen since the second world war.” The People’s Assembly is a national campaign against austerity, cuts and privatisation in the workplace, community and welfare services. The group aspires to enforce change through the organisation of joint action and local campaigns. It is not linked to any political party, but it is supported by individual bodies including factions of Green party, the CND, the National Assembly of Women, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Stop the War Coalition, and trade unions such as the Fire Brigades Union, the British Pensioners and Trade Unions AA, the TUC, NUJ, NUT, Unite and Unison. Related: Labour to fight any attempt by Cameron to declare victory without a majority Earlier this week, political commentators predicted that the Tories would try to claim that any government led by Ed Miliband and dependent on SNP votes would be “illegitimate”. Home secretary Theresa May previously declared that such a government would create the “worst crisis since the abdication”, and David Cameron said Miliband was out to “seize power” without winning the largest number of seats. But Labour aides on Thursday insisted that there is no law giving the leader of the largest party the right to govern. “The rules are the rules,” one Labour adviser said – regardless of the political argument about legitimacy that Cameron may make. Sam Fairbairn, national secretary of the People’s Assembly, said any attempts by Cameron to remain prime minister would be “an all-out attack on the democratic process”. He added: “We’ll be there in force on Saturday and we’ll occupy Downing Street ourselves if Cameron attempts to do this. I expect many people to be incredibly angry at the situation.” Last summer, the People’s Assembly organised an anti-austerity march in London that attracted an estimated 50,000 people, with speakers including Russell Brand and Mark Steel. |