Marchers in Central London expressed frustration at deep government cuts — and persistent economic malaise (Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images).
And I'm too old for it.
Unions, antiwar campaigners, left-wing leaders, community groups, and other activists poured down London’s streets in a demonstration against reductions to public sector spending which officials are pushing through in order to rein in the Britain’s debt, which stands at more than $1.7 trillion.
Although the austerity program has had some modest successes — the country’s deficit has dropped slightly — the British economy has shrunk for three consecutive quarters amid cuts at home and economic turmoil on the continent.
Brendan Barber, whose Trades Union Congress helped organize the march, said that the message of Saturday’s protest was that ‘‘austerity is simply failing.’’
‘‘The government is making life desperately hard for millions of people because of pay cuts for workers, while the rich are given tax cuts,’’ he said.
It's worth it if bankers are served, right?
Britain borrowed $20.8 billion in September alone, and with other European countries — including next-door neighbor Ireland — struggling to make good on their debt, there is a general consensus that the budget needs to be rebalanced.
But the right-leaning government did little to endear itself with ordinary Britons when it reduced income taxes for the country’s wealthiest citizens earlier this year. And its leadership has struggled to fight perceptions of elitism in this class-conscious country.
On Friday, the Conservative Party’s chief whip stepped down following a dispute over whether he’d described officers guarding the prime minister’s official residence at Downing Street as ‘‘plebs’’ or warned them to ‘‘learn your [expletive] place.’’
Even opposition Labor Party leader Ed Miliband, who is known for his close ties with unions, was booed when he told protesters gathered in London’s Hyde Park that some cuts would have to be made one way or the other.
Labor is Britain's version of Democrats.
‘‘It’s right that we level with people,’’ he argued. The cheers returned after he criticized what he described as ‘‘self-defeating austerity.’’
That would be a first for any government.
Jeers aside, the protests were good-natured. One group of children dressed up as government workers, including a nurse and a traffic warden. Another child, dressed as a chef, held up a sign warning that Prime Minister David Cameron was ‘‘a recipe for disaster.’’
Yeah, the protesters are using children to advance their agenda. You would almost think they were a war-promoting newspaper or government.
Following the rally a splinter group of demonstrators — some wearing the Guy Fawkes masks associated with the Anonymous movement — ran through the streets of London with officers in tow. A Scotland Yard spokesman said there had been no arrests.
There is your controlled opposition right there.
Official crowd estimates were not immediately available, although Associated Press journalists at the scene said the protesters were tens of thousands strong.
In other words, they are the VOICE of the PEOPLE!
Similar protests were also held in Belfast, Northern Ireland’s capital, and Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city.
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UPDATE:
"Occupy London activists stage St. Paul’s protest" Associated Press, October 15, 2012
LONDON —Several supporters of the anticorporate Occupy movement chained themselves to the pulpit of St. Paul’s Cathedral during a service Sunday in an action marking the anniversary of its now-dismantled protest camp outside the London landmark....
A statement read by the protesters and posted online by the movement accused cathedral authorities of neglecting their Christian duty by siding with the rich and powerful.
‘‘In the fight for economic justice, Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple, but you invited them in and instead evicted us,’’ it said.
In a statement, the cathedral said it disagreed ‘‘with the way in which some protesters are continuing to pursue the agenda or conflict with St. Paul’s, rather than consulting with us about how together we might better achieve the reforms which many people including Occupy are looking for.’’
Like what? Politics?
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