Rally against the cuts

Thousands of people across the country converged in London yesterday for a march organised by the Trading Union Congress (TUC) to protest against the coalition government’s spending cuts.

TUC anti-cuts march was the biggest since the Iraq War protest in 2003; English people are not big fans of protests, but this rally attracted many demonstrators from all walks of life and whole families with kids holding colourful signs against the cuts. Protesters gathered at 11 am between Temple Place and Blackfriars to set off at noon. They passed Parliament and Trafalgar Square, along Piccadilly before entering Hyde Park for a three hours rally starting at around 1.30 pm.
Speeches versus reductions in public spending were held by union members’ speakers and politicians; also Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party, had his say on the public sector cuts.

Among the anti-cuts supporters who joined the rally, there was charity worker Jeanne Wilson, from Lewisham, who decided to march with a group of friends. “It is very important that we stand up and show how disgusted we are with the Government’s cuts in the public sector. Most day centres for older people and connection centres for kids and teenagers have been closed. Moreover, many libraries shut in Lewisham and all over the UK; it is really upsetting,” Jeanne said.

People who work in the private sector joined the rally, as well. Sarah Newman is a teacher in a private Academy and used to work in the public sector until recently. She said: “Everyone needs to team up against the cuts. We are not going to accept this situation within local councils and if there is a strike, I would like to go”.

People actually came from all over the UK, in order to join the rally. Charlie Taylor, who works in the private sector, travelled all the way from Derbyshire to London. It took him four hours to get to the march by bus with a group of people leaving in his area. “I am a member of the socialist party and I believe that marching will stop the cuts; we will also call a 24-hours public sector general strike to bring all the workers affected by cuts together. The Government is cutting the budget for old people services, libraries and cultural services in general; we have to do something about all these changes,” Charlie said.

Even though it had been encouraged by the high levels of cooperation between the TUC and Scotland Yard to ensure a peaceful event, before the rally in Hyde Park took place, TUC’s protest was hijacked by gangs of anarchists and anti-capitalists who broke away from the demonstrators on the main march, smashing windows in Oxford Street and daubing graffiti on banks; more than 100 Uncut supporters occupied the luxury food store Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly.
Around 200 people were arrested and many others face criminal charges over what has been called “the battle of Piccadilly”.

Meanwhile, store bosses on West End, whose shops suffered million of pounds of losses, are demanding a ban on marches in the area.