On 13 May, thousands of people marched through Bristol city centre in a protest against the government’s plans for £12 billion in welfare cuts.
And the entire event was organised by seven teenagers on Facebook.
BuzzFeed News spoke to five of the young woman, all of whom are still at school, about what inspired them to take action – and how they achieved such a turnout.
What inspired you to organise the protest?
Hannah Patterson, 17: We felt shocked, disappointed and hopeless after the result of the general election and wanted to get our voices heard. We wanted – and still want – to do everything we could to prevent the damaging policies proposed by the Conservative party.
Rosie Simmonds, 18: We were all really angry about the Tory plans for further austerity and inspired by the protest in London (on 9 May). We really wanted to go to a protest, so when we saw that there wasn't one happening in Bristol, we decided to do it ourselves. We knew that there are enough people passionate about ending austerity in Bristol to make a protest viable.
Fatin Guled, 18: We were all quite disappointed with the results of the general election. We didn't really envisage another Tory government, especially not a majority. I was quite frustrated and angry and a couple of other women from sixth form were as well. And when we discussed the cuts that were going to be happening we felt like we had to do something.
What were you hoping to achieve?
Megan Foster Flaherty, 18: We wanted to unite those threatened by the new government and let people know that they are not alone. We wanted to let the government know that we will not take these cuts lying down and we will do whatever is in our power to save our country. As well, we really wanted to show people that you don't have to be hugely politically involved or be in an influential position to be able to take a stance against what you don't believe in.
Ellie Scull, 18: We were hoping to give people a sense of hope in such an unpleasant time and show that we don't just have to succumb to the unfair nature of the cuts and the Tory policies. Too often people think that they have no power over what happens next after an election, forgetting that they do have a voice and that they have a right to express it.
FG: We were hoping to bring people together, and at first we were hoping for some students and people we knew to come along and show their solidarity. We wanted to make it clear that we weren't happy with the effects of this government on our communities.
Bristol has two Labour women MPs and the people in their constituencies were rooting for Labour to get more seats than they did. We were hoping to show that Bristol has different core values than the ones the Conservatives embody.
Did you expect it to attract so many people?
FG: After a day or two it became apparent that more than just a few students were as angry and frustrated as us. We weren't expecting 4,000 people to say they were going on Facebook and we definitely weren't expecting thousands to actually show up!
HP: We certainly didn't expect to attract so many people. We were overwhelmed and delighted by the amount of interest and coverage the protest got. We feel extremely inspired by this achievement and hope to have inspired others too.
RS: We thought we would get one to two thousand people if that, so we were delighted to get so many. Especially because we put the event up at such late notice. We thought that a lot of people would click that they were attending on Facebook but not actually show up, whereas in reality a lot more people came than the people that said they were coming.
MF: It was incredible to see so many people there, but saddening at the same as it quickly became clear the extremity of the cuts and how many people are and will continue to suffer from them. That being said, it was inspiring to see that so many people are willing to do something about it, not just for themselves but for others around them.
Why do you think it struck a chord with so many people?
ES: I feel as if it was the sense of solidarity that protests – especially peaceful protests – provide. Instead of being sat inside feeling hopeless and watching the news, people had a chance to go out and exercise their right to demonstrate and be part of a crowd of like-minded people. It's a very empowering experience.
FG: We've already had David Cameron as prime minister and we began to think about what his party could continue to do to people on low incomes and people in oppressed groups if we sat back and didn't voice our objections. Others at the event told me they felt similarly and when we specifically mentioned cuts which are likely going to be hurting the most vulnerable in our communities I think people felt they wanted to march with us.
HP: I think it struck such a chord because people are terrified...the policies proposed by the Conservatives, particularly £12 billion cuts to welfare, will have a very real and devastating effect on people's lives and I think our protest offered an opportunity to express that.
What has the reaction been like among your friends and family?
HP: Generally positive. Our sixth form has been really behind us, with teachers expressing great pride and giving us opportunities to make signs and promote the march in assemblies. Support from parents has also been wonderful and we've received really helpful advice. Our friends were amazed at how everything took off and were really eager to help.
However, there was some negativity. A lot of people were sceptical at first about whether there was any point protesting and we faced opposition from quite a few people about us being a group of young women. In contrast, we believe this is an extremely important aspect of our group and something to be celebrated.
ES: I've encountered a lot of disbelief, personally. At first my family were very dubious about the protest, refusing to believe that peaceful protest could happen following the very negative press surrounding the London protests the previous weekend. However afterwards we received a huge amount of praise about the execution of the protest, and people still seem shocked to hear that it was arranged by a group of young female students as this is a hugely ignored demographic in regards to politics.
MF: We have been very lucky with the positive response that we have had from family and friends. The only concerns friends expressed were before the protest when we didn't know what the turnout would be, or from people who didn't understand why we were doing it, like the Conservative councillor who the BBC interviewed. Apart from that, the support has been breathtaking.
Our sixth form have said how proud they are of us and our achievements, and the messages have been flooding in from friends and strangers to congratulate us. It has all been very overwhelming, but inspiring.
FG: My mum has been very proud of the popularity! Our friends all came to the protest and some of my family did too. They're delighted that so many people came and that we've created a platform for further work.
Do your friends and people of the same age in Bristol share your concerns?
RS: Definitely, I think the number of people at the protest really showed us that, as many of them were young people themselves. At the end of the day our futures are going to be affected by austerity, and we want the government to make decisions that will give us a brighter, not worse-off future.
MF: Absolutely. Bristol mostly voted for Labour so it is fair to say that the city did not vote for the austerity the Tories are proposing. Young people have a voice, so it was great to see so many young people with us on Wednesday expressing their voices, especially as many of them weren't old enough to vote yet, so they must feel like they are not being listened to.
ES: For the most part, yes. The majority of young people I know are very left-wing and are strongly opposed to the Conservatives and their policies.
HP: Definitely. Most of my peers are really concerned about the direct impact the government's austerity measures will have on ourselves and the people we love. Especially worried are those struggling the most already – people from working-class, single-parent families who survive on benefits and those who rely on the NHS for long-term healthcare and mental health support.
Were there any problems during the day with the authorities?
FG: The police were great, actually. It was quite daunting getting in touch with them at first – especially as a woman of colour, with everything happening in terms of police at the moment. But they were perfectly reasonable and helped the event to be a success.
ES: The police were very accommodating and friendly both in the arrangement of the demonstration and during it, seeming happy to be facilitating the protest with some officers smiling and chatting to people while they marched. Most locals also seemed in support of the protest even while they were stuck in traffic as a result of it, beeping their horns in support.
HP: On the day of the protest there weren't any problems at all. We were so pleased with the way everything went, that everyone was peaceful and there were no arrests. It was also really great to have the support we did from the police; they were helpful in making sure everything went smoothly but also let us pull it off in the way we wanted.
Do you have any other events planned in the future?
RS: We are organising a protest and food drive in Bristol on 8 July, and we are going to the People's Assembly anti-austerity protest on 20 June. We've been asked to lead the student bloc on the day, which is really exciting.
FG: We're in the planning stages of future events and are thinking of having another event on the day the Budget is released. We're intending on using our platform to help people in our communities who will no doubt suffer under the cuts to come. We want to use the popularity of our Facebook page to gather support for food banks and projects running in our local communities.
ES: We're all currently studying for our A-Levels at the moment so events arranged by us will unfortunately need to be put on hold for the time being, but once those are out the way we're hoping to arrange more anti-austerity events whilst working with food banks and shelters to help those most affected.