A few months ago I hosted a debate at my think tank with one of the key Tahrir Square
leaders. After his talk about Egypt, he warned the audience: the protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak were not just an Egyptian or Middle Eastern phenomena; it could – and, he said, would
– spread to the West. For the youth of today, he argued, feel disempowered, empoverished and betrayed.
As protests spread from New York to London and other European capitals, it seems that Egyptian protester may have been right. Today’s efforts to occupy the London stock exchange failed but protesters remain on the grounds of St Paul’s Cathedral. Whatever happens in the next days, protests like these are likely to appear, disappear and appear again. For the government it will create pressure to advance banking reforms, cap bonuses and sound tough on the City. For Labour, knowing how far to go will be a real challenge – if Ed Miliband goes too far in his support he will lose the middle class voters he has been courting. Especially if the protests start to look like riots, people will quickly stop sympathising with the movement. But if the Labour leaders does not go far enough in his support, he will be assailed by the traditional left.
But the greatest challenge may be Boris Johnson’s. He will feel the wrath of the protesters, especially if policing of the events fail, but won’t be able to do much about the facts. Ken Livingstone, meanwhile, will have no qualms associating with the extremes of the anti-capitalist movement. To paraphrase George W Bush, they are his people. Labour may not like it, but if Red Ken sides with the protests and they remain lawful, the Mayor could find himself in a difficult situation.
Comments