23 December 1997

What: Members of the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network (DAN) throw red paint over the Downing Street gates to protest against proposed welfare reforms and cuts to disability benefits.

Why significant: Researchers would later argue that the protest showed New Labour that it would need to undermine public support for the social security system if it wanted to justify large-scale cuts – leading to “several high profile anti-fraud advertising campaigns” (Piggott and Grover, 2009).