riot police were called in to prevent students from gaining access to the parliament building. Meanwhile, whilst occupations that had begun the previous week continued at University College London, Newcastle University and the University of Cambridge, a new one began at the University of Nottingham, where 150 protesters occupied a building. University buildings and local government buildings were occupied in Birmingham and Oxford while police blocked an attempt at occupation of the council building in York. The protesters occupying the council chamber in Birmingham left after four hours, with a police spokesperson commending the protesters for their "wholly peaceful" behaviour, and noting that it "couldn't have been more different from the violent clashes seen recently in London". 9 December Parliament Square protest On Thursday 9 December, the day of the scheduled vote on education reform in the Houses of Parliament, two separate protests were organised in central London; one led by the National Union of Students (NUS), the other jointly by the University of London Union (ULU) and the NCAFC, with an expected 40,000 people attending. ULU members handed out green hard hats with the words "Tax the banks, not the students" on them, whilst a rally was held in Bloomsbury at midday, where ULU President Solomon addressed the crowd. The Metropolitan Police had positioned lines of riot police and police vans along the Houses of Parliament, to prevent any protesters gaining access to it. Superintendent Julia Pendry issued a statement saying: "Protesters will be allowed sight and sound of parliament. However, there is evidence to suggest a number of people will come to London intent on causing violence and disorder. They are jumping on the bandwagon of these demonstrations with no intention to protest or interest in student tuition fees… those who are intent on committing crime will also be dealt with and they will suffer the consequences of their actions." The protesters marched from Bloomsbury to Parliament Square in the afternoon, where they pushed down metal barriers and occupied the Square. Around 3:30 pm, police kettled those several thousand protesters in the square, preventing them from leaving, stating that it was necessary "due to the level of violence that our officers are facing." Mounted police charged into the crowd on one side of the Square in an attempt to disperse them. A field hospital was set up on the green providing emergency first aid to protesters as well