Here are some impressions of the Nov 30 protest from Birmingham.

08:30 Arrived at the Picket Line at the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation NHS Trust HQ. Three entrances covered. Chief Exec came down to tell us it was the first time she had crossed a picket line and it was her pension too! At least she had a union placard in her window overlooking the gate. Lots of passing support in cars and non-unionised support going in.

10:00 Some jobsworth security officer came to ask us to take the flags off the landlord's fence. Since none of us knew who had put them there we politely declined, and firmly refused to move out of the way when he suggested he would remove them himself!

11:00 Departed for the 15 minute walk to the march through Birmingham.

11:15 Arrived at central Birmingham march location to find thousands waiting to depart. Union contingents were supported by Pensioners, Anticuts Groups and the Occupy Birmingham protestors. Apparently the march was unofficial and illegal as the Council had tried to charge the TUC for closing the streets and policing it. The TUC had therefore called it off, but had not been able to tell the members! The resulting 15,000 strong march through central Birmingha, was a model of working class discipline and organisation, and applauded almost along its whole length by patient motorists, pedestrians, students and shop and office staff.

13:30 Rally at the NIA with appearances from Brendan barber (TUC), Dave Prentis (UNISON), Tony Woodleigh (UNITE), Chris Keates (NASUWT), Janice Godrich (PCS) and others. Plenty of support for the ideas from the platform that there is enough money, just in the wrong hands, that the fight is for jobs and services as well as pensions, and that we as a class are rediscovering our strength and will need to strike again and again in this campaign and in others against this government that has less mandate than we had for strike action. Afterwards I was engaged in a conversation with a colleague about the need to broaden the grass roots organisation in the workplace, disregarding inter-union rivalries, to enable the membership to hold the leaders to their militant promises of further action and intransigance in the struggle betwen the 1% and the working class.