My week leading into the 2015 UK General Election painted a very different picture to the 24 hour campaign coverage of policy announcements and leaders debates.
Friday 1 May, May Day , started as always with the International Workers Day march, this year the smallest yet. The evening was a very different story as political party and electoral candidates Class War led the Reclaim The Beats street party through London with several hundred anarchists. Police clashed with partygoers along the route and several people were arrested.
Saturday 2 May saw the last weekend of election campaigning and UKIP canvassing in Ramsgate was disrupted by anti-fascist activists. A very nervous Nigel Farage was led away to election hustings from which the press were refused access and then a UKIP campaigner tried to stop the press filming their election offices from a public street.
Election night and The London School of Economics (LSE) held an Election Night Party, where students and academics watched the results coming in until 3am.
Saturday afternoon, 9 May, two days into the new all Conservative government, 2000 protestors marched on Downing Street, where they were met with batons and brutal arrests. Whitehall then erupted into violence on all sides as police were hit with missiles and smoke bombs. Hundreds of riot officers, that were earlier policing the English Defence League (EDL) protest in Walthamstow, kettled protestors and then used force to clear Whitehall. In all 17 people were arrested.
Report Digital Coverage
2015 International Workers Day Protest
Reclaim The Beats May day Street Party
Police Clash With Reclaim The Beats Protestors
Clashes as Police Arrest Reclaim The Beats Protestors
UKIP Official Attempts to Halt Press Freedom
No to UKIP Disrupt Ramsgate Campaigning
Police Clash With Anti-Government Protestors on Downing Street
Riot Police Arrest Anti-Government Protestors on Whitehall
Riot Police Clash With Anti-Government Protestors on Whitehall
Police Clear Whitehall After Anti-Government Clashes
All footage available from Report Digital.
© Jason N. Parkinson/reportdigital.co.uk