CLEGG-STRAVAGANZA

Nick Clegg received a heated welcome when he returned to the city of his constituency for the Lib Dem party conference last weekend.

On Saturday (12th) some 5000 people marched through Sheffield to show their opposition to the Lib Dems collusion in public sector cuts. They were met by a thousand police with mobile barricades, surveillance and a steel protest cage outside City Hall.

On arriving there, an anarchist block decided to avoid the cop’s waiting pen, and instead, set off on a direct action spree in the centre of town. They succeeded in shutting a string of banks and tax dodgers, including Topshop, Vodafone, Natwest and Boots.

Police were initially caught on the hop by the flying ‘bail-ins’ but when they did respond, it was with force. For the most part protesters successfully used anti-kettle tactics to stay on the move. However, police did manage to form one small kettle, trapping protesters and bystanders alike. Aggro coppers punched a 15-year-old girl in the face and pushed a mother to the floor in front of her kids in the the confrontation (for similar customer relations see the and finally).

The day before (11th), 800 protesters marched on City Hall to give the Lib Dem delegates a vocal reception. A Critical Mass bike ride also brought traffic on the busy Ecclesall Road grinding to a halt. If only the coalition would do the same.