The people's brakes on war

Historic protests couldn't stop the invasion of Iraq, but the legacy will be felt if conflict grows with Iran
Seven years ago today, it was hard to believe how many people were on the streets trying to prevent the Iraq war. There was anger and foreboding, but also a feeling of exhilaration. Surely a march this big would have some effect. As we know, it didn't.
Yet the numbers on that 15 February 2003 march, the biggest demonstration ever held in Britain (joined by more than 10 million people in over 60 countries in what became the largest worldwide demonstration in history), do matter. Because what they pointed to was something unique. For every regular protester, there were a vast number of people who'd never marched before.

So was the protest a failure? Given that we know now that Tony Blair had decided for war, any number of millions might not have deterred him. But the protesters have succeeded in making opposition to war a part of mainstream political debate. Not just in parliament, where the vote for war was won by only 12 MPs, but in the traditionally conser­vative press. The Daily Mail pointed to the anti-war demonstrators gathered for Blair's appearance before the Chilcot inquiry, and a poll showing that 80% of people polled thought Blair was lying, to state the country now shared the ­sentiments of the protesters.