Protestors staged a 'mass die-in' on the tarmac:
Amelia, a photographer: "I'm crying because I find it really emotional and positive that people turn up and people do this, it's really moving and really incredible, but it's also on the other hand really sad, and it really touches me."
Caroline Lucas made her way through the crowd to cheers. Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party, addressed the crowd through a megaphone. "Tonight is not the end, this is just the beginning of the fight for peace."
Photographers: "Hello gentlemen. What camera you got there? An iPhone? What's that attachment? Are you here just to piss off Sam? How was Lesbos? What were the working conditions like? Really good actually, not too much press, I expected it to be overrun, there was a bit of close elbow stuff but there always is."
"Haven't you been in Singapore or something? Istanbul? You got fired? What are you doing now? Not a whole lot, just thinking about if I want to stay in this game. Yeah, it's not worth it these days, with all the gear."
I spoke to a sarcastic policeman. "How long do we keep this footage? Oh, we only keep it if you've done something wrong." Very reassuring.
"Who organised this minutes silence? Who's counting? How will they know when to stop?"
Some drawings from a protest on Tuesday 1st December in Parliament Square:
A couple of brief interviews I did after a Stop the War protest against British intervention in Syria, Saturday 28th November 2015.
Harley price, an artist.
"It [the protest] was pretty quiet, I don't know what good it did, but hopefully it'll do something. It's better than doing nothing. At least you gotta try.
"I was hoping that there'd be more people possibly, and that it'd go on a bit longer … but it was the first one, I think if things start happening then it'll probably get more, not necessarily militant, but more vociferous. Hopefully.
"Hopefully we won't start bombing. I really don't know [if we'll have a vote this week], it wouldn't surprise me. I know Cameron's dying for it, it's only his concern that it won't go through and he'll suffer another defeat that's preventing it. And Labour, well I dunno how much disarray there is internally, but certainly the way the media cover it, they try and make out that it's like a net, y'know, it's got so many holes in it, can't hold water.
"I don't so whether that's true or not. I think it's wildly probably overexaggerated [sic] and maybe the party needs to have its … maybe there's two parties there, and they need to split apart. There's Tony Blair Labour initiative that I don't really like, and it's soft conservatism really, conservatism through the back door. So maybe we need to have a more left wing party, maybe the labour MPs can join with the liberals or something, whatever they're called, the Liberal Democrats."
…
And Ellie, who was also in town for the Sisters Uncut demonstration (about the disproportionate number of austerity cuts that affect women).
"I dunno why people keep saying Jeremy Corbyn isn't strong enough to be leader.
"How much balls does it take, how much balls does it take to stand up and say 'let's not jump on the bandwagon, let's not bomb Syria'?"
People on the doorstep didn't trust Natalie Bennett, because she's an Australian. They feel she's not truly invested in our country. I don't know what to say.
"Can we vote here?"
"No."
Watching results with Simon Stafford-Townsend of the Bristol Green Party. Reality had yet to set in ...
Larch and I retreated to the Bristol West election HQ, a lovely house in the suburban streets of Clifton, which had the words 'Green Party headquarters' on the front door and the bay windows plastered with homemade posters proclaiming 'reasons to vote Green'.
There was a designated bike room. Larch went in to have a bit of a lie down before the results really got going. "I'm going to have a kip. But not a UKIP."
"A Green kip," I suggested.
"Yes, haha. A Green kip!"
Much scorn was heaped on the election coverage. And especially the BBC graphics. Consensus was it looked like and episode of Doctor Who, and not a good one.
And so to the Bristol Student Union. The place was packed with people and nervous energy. Every Labour win got large cheers; every Conservative win got a cheer and a blast on a Vuvuzela from a small group of red trouser-wearing young Tories.
Nothing to do with George Ferguson!
Lucky. Benefits sanctions. The more I brought up, the more Lucky seemed opposed to it, and the more I found myself wondering why he was even a member. Of course, to me and many on the left, being a Conservative brings very different things to mind; benefits sanctions, work capability, closing A&Es. These acts seem heartless, and it is almost impossible to imagine anyone condoning them. But to Lucky and his young Tory colleagues, they might barely register. The first things to spring to mind when they hear the word 'Conservative' are probably free enterprise, job creation, defence of the realm.
Too serious; time for another beer.
The union had thinned out a lot by 4, and by 6 only the most hardcore (mostly Politics students) were still lying in front of the projector, half asleep. By half seven it was chucking out time, and time for the stragglers to watch the rest of the results on an iPad, sitting on a picnic bench outside the union. Then it was bedtime.
Next day, I'd stayed up far too late to wait for the Bristol West result, which ended up being Labour. Disappointed, hungover, tired. Hoping for some sort of debrief, I headed to the Green Party shop on Gloucester Road, where people had picked up (recyclable) signs for their windows and gardens. A note on the door directed me to the Old Fish Market.
A feeling of hope pervaded in the pub on Baldwin Street. Speaking to other members was good; for many in the Green Party, this was not their first election defeat.
Someone was on Twitter, checking the council election results. Every time a new Green councillor was announced, a cheer went up. Every time one walked through the door, a bigger cheer. In the end, the Green Party won 13 council seats, half of who were women, making them the third biggest party in Bristol council.
held onto their one seat, increased majority
didn't take any other target seats
we'll see what happens in the locals and mayorals
finish with image of south bristol meeting plotting th next move
