ABSTRACT
A high number and wide variety of protests have been organized in the UK since the implementation of austerity measures following the 2008 financial crisis. The UK government’s response to protests against austerity has been to suggest that “we are all in this together.” This sentiment has been widely publicly ridiculed because of the polarity of cutting welfare benefits whilst preserving tax havens. Anti-austerity protesters have picked up on this tide of public ridicule and emphasized the sharp contrast between the minority rich and the majority of British citizens whose conditions have dramatically worsened as a consequence of austerity measures. This master frame is best exemplified by the slogan of the Occupy protests: “We are the 99 percent.” Whilst no-one would ever suggest that a protest, or set of protests, is able to unite 100 percent of the population, we expect anti-austerity protests to share the ability to mobilize broadly given that they have similar broadly conceived goals.
