Over 10,000 trade unionists and campaigners marched through central London today to defend the welfare state and public services. The march was called by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) and supported by all the major trade unions. It was designed to frame the election debate and send a clear message to all prospective MPs of the opposition to cuts.

Pensioners were prominent on the protest – and with good reason. Dot Gibson, general secretary of the NPC, said, “There are 2.5 million pensioners officially living in poverty and they also rely heavily on public services. We are not going to stand by while cuts and privatisation go through.