by PETER AVIS
Tens of thousands of Britons demonstrated in the major cities on Oct. 20 to condemn the austerity policy.
More than 150,000 people, including whole families, answered the trade union call to demonstrate in Great Britain on Oct. 20. In London, Glasgow and Belfast they expressed the same rejection of the austerity policy of the government, which is determined, despite its unpopularity, to impose severe austerity measures.
In London, where some 100,000 people participated in an hours-long march, a big rally was held in Hyde Park at Speakers’ Corner, the historic venue for popular movements. Everywhere, the demonstration’s slogans – “Austerity doesn’t work” and “Britain needs a future that works” – filled the streets and the royal park beneath a sunny sky.
The march brought together firemen, teachers, nurses, students and the unemployed – all those who lack work or who are suffering from the wage freeze and the attack on retirement pensions.
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