Scotland, March 09: The ‘Big Fightback’ in the UK is receiving momentum as the impacts of the austerity measures adopted by the coalition government begin to bite across the country.
Hundreds of people have been demonstrating in the Swindon town center against the spending cuts introduced by the government as part of the spending review program launched to tackle the country’s worst budget deficit since World War II.
Several speakers, representing local unions and community groups, have addressed the protest gatherings to shed more light on the objectives behind the government’s cuts policy, which aims to further widen the gap between the poor and rich.
Protesters also distributed leaflets among passers-by and staged direct action outside Vodafone and Topshop stores to highlight the giant retailers’ tax-dodging activities.
In Middlesbrough, anti-cuts protesters converged on the town hall on Monday evening to criticize local councillors who met to vote on proposals to slash the authority’s budget by £50 million.
Public-sector union Unison put its weight behind the gathering, with its Middlesbrough branch secretary, Brian Maloney, describing the cuts as “too savage”.
“Many council employees are low-paid women and they are being hit extremely hard,” he added.
In Southend-on-Sea, Southend Against the Cuts campaigners demonstrated to protest the coalition government’s austerity measures, which they said are threatening services and jobs.
And, in London, health-care workers have been joined by student nurses to march through the capital and protest against plans to cut hundreds of National Health Service (NHS) jobs in the area.
The event dubbed “Day X for the NHS” was planned to protest plans to cut 635 jobs at hospitals, including 250 nursing posts.
——Agencies