No ifs, no buts, no education cuts.” This was the chant carried through London last Wednesday by fifty thousand students and lecturers, in protest against the government’s plans to raise the cap on tuition fees to £9,000.

The rally, organised by the National Union of Students and the University and College Union, highlights a major issue facing universities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Spending cuts to higher education have been introduced to reduce the country’s budget deficit. While many students at the protest agreed that spending cuts must be brought in, there was strong opposition to this measure. “Britain’s economy is supported by its intellectual reputation,” said one student from Cambridge at the demonstration. “The use of tuition fees to cover unnecessary cuts to education is ideologically motivated, not driven by economic need.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg maintains that the proposed system will be fair to poor and disadvantaged students. “The proposals we have put forward will mean that those who earn the least will pay much less than they do at the moment,” he insisted in Parliament on Wednesday.

Bright sunshine provided a fitting backdrop to the mood of excitement which dominated the early part of the day. The protesters’ anger was largely muted by a comforting feeling of unity, inspired by the sheer size of the demonstration. Slogans were chanted and placards were brandished, but there was no sign of aggression between police officers and protesters. A few kind protesters even shared their food with policemen. At the Tate Britain, a National Union of Students bus with radio and television equipment blared messages over the crowds with loudspeakers. The messages they played, like the students they were played to, varied greatly in fervency, ideology, and hostility. Yet they were greeted with thunderous chanting from the demonstrators, sharing a united opposition to the government’s proposal.

What was almost entirely a peaceful demonstration was marred by violence at the Conservative Party Headquarters at Millbank House. Who the perpetrators were is uncertain, but about 200 people stormed the building, overrunning the small police presence and smashing windows on their way in. At 13:30, ideologues with megaphones campaigned outside the building, shouting, “This is the Tory Headquarters! We must barricade them in their offices, we must blockade them in the streets!”Masked anarchists were seen at the forefront of the attack, and activists handing out anarchist literature were scattered around the area. Police regained control of the building at 17:00, arresting 35. The hostility has provoked firm condemnation from student leaders and students alike, being branded ‘despicable’, and ‘barbaric’.

It was a day of unity for the demonstrators. The future for the next generation of graduates lies shrouded in detail, ideology, economics, and political manoeuvring, but at least one thing is a clear fact: the voices of fifty thousand students came to London in protest. Whether or not they were heard by the government is a question indeed.

Photos of the day: http://www.felixonline.co.uk/gallery/?albumID=2