Counter-strike

The People’s Assembly, the self-appointed left-wing pressure group behind the recent anti-austerity demonstrations, portrays itself as the voice of the masses struggling under oppressive Tory rule. It claims that no fewer than 250,000 demonstrators went to its rally in central London last month (a figure dutifully regurgitated by broadcasters). But photographs of the event in London indicate no more than 25,000 attended.

The bogusness does not stop there. Despite its demotic name, the People’s Assembly is no spontaneous uprising of the angry British public. On the contrary, the organisation, which counts the comedian Russell Brand and the Guardian columnist Owen Jones among its noisiest advocates, is bankrolled by the trade unions, those wealthy institutions that have been part of Britain’s political landscape since the 19th century. At least 11 trade unions are backing the group, including the National Union of Teachers, Unison, the Communication Workers Union and Unite, led by the notorious Merseyside firebrand Len McCluskey, who keeps a drawing of Lenin in his office.