Stop the City demonstrations of 1983 and 1984 were billed as a 'Carnival Against War, Oppression and Destruction', in other words protests against the military-financial complex. These demonstrations can be seen as the forerunner of the anti-globalisation protests of the 1990s, especially those in London, England, on May Day and the Carnival against Capitalism on 18 June 1999. They were partially inspired by the actions of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp.
Activities that formed part of the biggest of these events were separate day-long street blockades of the financial district (the City of London) which supporters of the protest argued are a major centre for profiteering, and consequently a root cause of many of the world's problems. The largest blockade involved 3,000 people, which succeeded in causing a £100 million shortfall on the day according to The Times. Around 1,000 arrests were subsequently made by the police over 18 months.
Inspirations
There were several inspirations for the protest. At the time there was a growing anti-militarist and anti-nuclear movement across Europe represented in the UK by CND and the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, which repeatedly blockaded the RAF Greenham Common base in protest at nuclear weapons being placed there. A new generation of anarchists were being drawn into activism through anarcho-punk.
The protest was unusual for the time since it had not met with the police to discuss a route or stewarding, it was not organised by a political party or trade union and the plan was not to march from one point to another. Rimbaud listed the following actions: work stopped at the Royal Exchange, shops selling fur attacked, restaurants stink-bombed, building locks glued, telephone lines jammed.
Whilst seen as initially successful, the demonstrations also provoked questions for anarcho-punk activists about how to make alliances with other groups and what aims to strive for in future. It was clear that the numbers of people on Stop the City protests were nothing like the 400,000 people attending the CND rally at Hyde Park in 1983.