After Millbank, there was Parliament Square.
On the day the government voted on the raising of university fees many of us went on the protest to show them how much destruction THEY were causing. Thanks to the media, however, WE were labelled the destructive ones.
This being my first protest, I was all excited. Lots of marching through the streets of London, chanting and sign waving. Like minded and thoroughly outraged people coming together, talking to each other, sharing opinions, peacefully showing our feelings to the country. Ending up at Parliament Square, it wasn't long before a few people decided it was necessary to knock over the metal fences and move across the grass, getting closer to Parliament.
Still, things were peaceful; people were just gathering in a larger space. We'd done our marching, we'd reached our destination - all agreed with the police, of course - and now we waited for the vote. And we waited. And waited. Surrounded by rows of police on foot, riot police and mounted horsie police, the atmosphere changed as word of kettling spread.
We tried all possible exits from the Square, but all were blocked. And hours later, we were still in very much the same situation. Unsurprisingly, people were not happy about being trapped in a confined space for hours on end, no food, no water, no warmth and no toilets. Call me stupid, but I was under the impression these were basic human rights.
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