Tomorrow (Saturday) will see the biggest demo against cuts in education since November 1988. Jotter’s files reveal that the last march along Princes Street by the Educational Institute of Scotland attracted around 7,000 protesters. It was billed as then general secretary Jim Martin’s “Big Speech”.
The troops were out in even larger numbers in December 1986 after the Main report and before the Rifkind deal. So how many will appear for Ronnie Smith’s “Big Speech”? Wise counsels might have prevailed upon the union and its parental backers to choose Grand Slam day, when the demo, shopping, and rugby might have been an irresistible combination.
Elizabeth Maginnis, Lothian’s education convener, has already received 4,000 letters about cuts. Presumably most are against.
