Formation (2013–2015) The movement was originally formed out of a frustration with the Labour Party and its new leader
Ed Miliband positioning on austerity and on welfare. It was launched with an open letter published in
The Guardian in February 2013, backed by public figures such as
Robert Griffiths,
Tony Benn,
Len McCluskey and
Jeremy Corbyn MP. A press conference was held on 26 March 2013 in London where speakers included
Caroline Lucas MP, journalist
Owen Jones, comedian
Mark Steel, then Labour MP
Katy Clark, comedian and disabled activist
Francesca Martinez,
Steve Turner of
Unite and
Zita Holbourne representing Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC). On 22 June 2013, more than 4,000 people attended a conference at Westminster Central Hall in London. This followed meetings and rallies across the country including Glasgow, Nottingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Pembrokeshire, Brighton & Hove, Southend, Derby, Leicester, North London and South East London. Following localized group discussions held at the London conference in 2013, local activist groups have been forming and holding meetings across the UK, with the aim of uniting and strengthening existing campaign groups in local areas with the People's Assembly movement. Delegations from the regional groups were expected to join a national mass protest outside the
Conservative Party conference in Manchester on 29 September 2013 and an organised day of civil disobedience across the UK on 5 November 2013. In 2014 the People's Assembly established a new forum called the ''Women's Assembly Against Austerity'', after people noted the large male representation of men at committees. The new forum attracted feminist activists from groups like
Association of Indian Women, the
National Assembly of Women,
Abortion Rights,
Women Unite, the
black student campaign and the
CND. The People's Assembly organised a demonstration which took place on 21 June 2014, marching from outside the
BBC Trust's Portland Place offices to Parliament Square. Organizers claimed up to 50,000 demonstrated in central London. Speakers included, among others, comedians
Russell Brand,
Kate Smurthwaite,
Mark Steel and
Francesca Martinez, Labour MPs
Diane Abbott and
Jeremy Corbyn, Green Party MP
Caroline Lucas,
Lindsey German of the
Stop the War Coalition,
Kate Hudson from
CND, and, then mayor of
Tower Hamlets,
Lutfur Rahman.
Class War,
AFed and
IWW activists denounced the march during it with placards and banners. As well as putting on national events, the majority of work is carried out by the local People's Assemblies, which were either founded after the founding People's Assembly, or incorporate pre-existing local anti-cuts groups. These have ranged from People's Question Times, on anti-austerity issues and usually with well known public figures; local demonstrations, regular leafleting, and support for all anti-austerity campaigns in local areas. In 2015 the first edition of the People's Manifesto was published, articulating anti-austerity policies. One of the key goals of the People's Assembly movement as published in the Draft Statement is "To make government abandon its
austerity programme. If it will not it must be replaced with one that will." On 20 June 2015, a People's Assembly organised an anti-austerity rally in London, which was attended by thousands of people.
Jeremy Corbyn,
MP for
Islington North spoke at the rally during his
campaign to become Labour leader.
During Corbyn's leadership in the Labour Party (2015–2019) The success of Corbyn's campaign to become
Leader of the Labour party and the rise of
Momentum saw the anti-austerity politics of the People's Assembly absorbed into the Labour Party. Momentum then received more funding, more political backing and more media interest than the People's Assembly. The
Financial Times argued that the rallies organised by the People's Assembly "sowed the seeds for the rise of
Corbynism two years later." On 16 April 2016, the National People's Assembly led a further national demonstration labelled the "March for Health, Homes, Jobs, Education". More specifically, such causes as a fully funded and publicly owned NHS, ending privatisation, scrapping tuition fees, and ending the marketisation of education. It has been reported that the march was attended by 50,000 to 150,000 protesters, who marched from London's
Euston Road to
Trafalgar Square. During the
2017 general election, the People's Assembly operated as a non-partisan campaign group. They created podcasts, crowdfunded billboards targeting the Conservative party, supported the protest song Liar Liar GE2017 and used their presence online to publicise hashtag campaigns such as #ManifestoOfMisery on
Twitter. At the 2018
Conservative Party Conference, then Prime Minister
Theresa May declared that "austerity is over" and there would be an increase in public investment. In response to this the People's Assembly launched a tour of the UK called "Britain is Broken" supported by the
Daily Mirror and trade unions to cover the impact of austerity measures taken by the government. In June 2019 the PAAA was involved in
nation-wide demonstrations against Donald Trump's visit to the United Kingdom, in association with other social movements. In September to October 2019 the Conservative government
prorogued parliament and received heavy political, legal and grassroots opposition. It prompted protests across the UK with thousands present at each, including international protests composed of both British expats and solidarity protesters. Though the initial protests were organised by
Another Europe Is Possible, The People's Assembly organised protests for the first day MPs went into parliament after the summer break.
Recent activity (2020–present) leading the march, 5 November 2022 Following a series of prominent political events in the UK – the defeat of the Labour Party at the
2019 general election, the
election of
Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour Party and the
COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown to contain the virus – the People's Assembly started to reorganise online mass video calls and meetups, with former Labour
MP Laura Pidcock (who became the organisation's National Secretary) Throughout 2020 there were examples of local People's Assembly groups in England such as Didcot, Cambridge and Calderdale collaborating with other groups to oppose austerity and lack of future investment in communities and campaign on climate change and social justice. This included partnerships with local politicians and groups such as
Extinction Rebellion,
Stop the War Coalition,
Disabled People Against Cuts and
Momentum. People's Assembly in Wales during 2020 campaigned for free school meals for primary-age pupils, then in 2022 launched a Health campaign named Our NHS - Born in Wales. The People's Assembly planned rallies and demonstrations across the country for Saturday 17 October 2020 in protest at the government's handling of coronavirus and what the PAAA believe will be another wave of austerity. ==Organisation==