Thousands Demonstrate Against the Cuts
Syder | 19.02.2011 17:22
This morning (Saturday 19th February) somewhere in the region of 3,000 Bristolians took the streets of the city centre to demonstrate against the wide range of ConDem cuts to the welfare state. The march passed peacefully and with those in attendance in high spirits with only a small (and entirely unnecessary) police presence.
The protest had been called by the Bristol and District Anti Cuts Alliance and took place on the weekend before Bristol City Council sets its budget. Hopefully the presence of thousands of residents of all ages taking to the streets will have sent the council a message that the city's people are prepared to defend their public services from the proposed neo-liberal cuts and privatisation that Cameron and Clegg envision.
This weeks news that in the face of mounting public opposition to government plans to sell off Britain's forests, the ConDems have been forced to abandon their plans shows that there is hope, and that if people organise around these issues the government can be made to jettison their schemes designed to punish the young, the disabled and the poor for a banking crisis caused by the banks.
This point was raised in the speeches which occured on College Green after the march, along with the new news that Barclays have been found to pay just 1% tax on their £11.6 billion profits. This points the way towards an alternative future where those who pay for the consequences of the financial crisis are those who caused it, not the most vulnerable in our society. Finally there was a call for those in attendance to join the national day of demonstration against the cuts in London on March 26th.
For more photos from the demo go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/17251154@N00/sets/72157625962254821/
Syder
Original article on IMC Bristol:
http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/703416