SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Disgusted With Tory Government, Brits March in Force Against Austerity Madness
Buoyed by election win, David Cameron poised to implement harsh cuts
May 27, 2015
Thousands are gathering in London on Wednesday, protesting the conservative Tory government's 'oppressive and draconian' austerity program.
| Tweets about #fuckthetories OR #endausteritynow |
According to the Guardian, organizers expect a crowd of around 5,000--including a large student bloc--to rally at Trafalgar Square, while another 2,000 are expected for a separate march from Downing Street through Westminster.
The demonstrations were scheduled to coincide with the Queen's Speech, an annual event marking the formal start to the Parliamentary year, in which the Queen of England outlines what UK citizens can expect from the government in the upcoming year. Earlier this month, the UK elections brought a surprise lurch to the right, with the Conservative Party gaining full control of the government and Prime Minister David Cameron sweeping back to power with more muscle behind him than before.
During the campaign, Cameron vowed to cut welfare spending, weaken labor unions, and implement pro-business reforms in the education and healthcare sectors.
Or, as anti-austerity organizers put it in their call-to-action, "the new Government is going to try to: smash the welfare state by PS12bn, privatise the [National Health Service], raise tuition fees, decimate local services, make strike action illegal, scapegoat migrants, worsen the housing crisis and to crush all dissent that stands in their way."
Writing about "Tory brutality" in a People's Assembly blog post on Tuesday, Ruby Utting wrote:
As a nation we are told that we are on the road to recovery, and Tory soundbites would have us believe that 'we are all in this together'... however their definition of a recovery seems to be the preservation of wealth and position for those who already have both at the cost of choice and opportunity for everyone else.
While the Tories appear to have backpedaled on a plan to repeal the country's Human Rights Act, the speech delivered Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth II indicates that the party intends to follow through on many other campaign promises.
One Tory proposal, for example, would cut the housing benefit for 18-21 year olds--a plan the social service organization St. Mungo's Broadway said would "make it extremely difficult for young people in vulnerable situations."
"Democracy doesn't end at the ballot box and it never ever has."
--Hannah Sketchley, Campaign Against Fees and Cuts
Wednesday's rally and march are in direct opposition to that platform, known as the Conservative Party Manifesto.
"It really is to remind the Conservative government...that there's absolutely masses of people who are out there who they don't represent and are ready to put up a fight if they do things which they mention in their manifesto," said Hannah Sketchley, a spokeswoman for the Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC), which organized the event in Trafalgar Square. "Democracy doesn't end at the ballot box and it never ever has."
Signaling growing momentum behind the opposition movement, other anti-austerity demonstrations are planned for Saturday, May 30 and Saturday, June 20.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Thousands are gathering in London on Wednesday, protesting the conservative Tory government's 'oppressive and draconian' austerity program.
| Tweets about #fuckthetories OR #endausteritynow |
According to the Guardian, organizers expect a crowd of around 5,000--including a large student bloc--to rally at Trafalgar Square, while another 2,000 are expected for a separate march from Downing Street through Westminster.
The demonstrations were scheduled to coincide with the Queen's Speech, an annual event marking the formal start to the Parliamentary year, in which the Queen of England outlines what UK citizens can expect from the government in the upcoming year. Earlier this month, the UK elections brought a surprise lurch to the right, with the Conservative Party gaining full control of the government and Prime Minister David Cameron sweeping back to power with more muscle behind him than before.
During the campaign, Cameron vowed to cut welfare spending, weaken labor unions, and implement pro-business reforms in the education and healthcare sectors.
Or, as anti-austerity organizers put it in their call-to-action, "the new Government is going to try to: smash the welfare state by PS12bn, privatise the [National Health Service], raise tuition fees, decimate local services, make strike action illegal, scapegoat migrants, worsen the housing crisis and to crush all dissent that stands in their way."
Writing about "Tory brutality" in a People's Assembly blog post on Tuesday, Ruby Utting wrote:
As a nation we are told that we are on the road to recovery, and Tory soundbites would have us believe that 'we are all in this together'... however their definition of a recovery seems to be the preservation of wealth and position for those who already have both at the cost of choice and opportunity for everyone else.
While the Tories appear to have backpedaled on a plan to repeal the country's Human Rights Act, the speech delivered Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth II indicates that the party intends to follow through on many other campaign promises.
One Tory proposal, for example, would cut the housing benefit for 18-21 year olds--a plan the social service organization St. Mungo's Broadway said would "make it extremely difficult for young people in vulnerable situations."
"Democracy doesn't end at the ballot box and it never ever has."
--Hannah Sketchley, Campaign Against Fees and Cuts
Wednesday's rally and march are in direct opposition to that platform, known as the Conservative Party Manifesto.
"It really is to remind the Conservative government...that there's absolutely masses of people who are out there who they don't represent and are ready to put up a fight if they do things which they mention in their manifesto," said Hannah Sketchley, a spokeswoman for the Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC), which organized the event in Trafalgar Square. "Democracy doesn't end at the ballot box and it never ever has."
Signaling growing momentum behind the opposition movement, other anti-austerity demonstrations are planned for Saturday, May 30 and Saturday, June 20.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Thousands are gathering in London on Wednesday, protesting the conservative Tory government's 'oppressive and draconian' austerity program.
| Tweets about #fuckthetories OR #endausteritynow |
According to the Guardian, organizers expect a crowd of around 5,000--including a large student bloc--to rally at Trafalgar Square, while another 2,000 are expected for a separate march from Downing Street through Westminster.
The demonstrations were scheduled to coincide with the Queen's Speech, an annual event marking the formal start to the Parliamentary year, in which the Queen of England outlines what UK citizens can expect from the government in the upcoming year. Earlier this month, the UK elections brought a surprise lurch to the right, with the Conservative Party gaining full control of the government and Prime Minister David Cameron sweeping back to power with more muscle behind him than before.
During the campaign, Cameron vowed to cut welfare spending, weaken labor unions, and implement pro-business reforms in the education and healthcare sectors.
Or, as anti-austerity organizers put it in their call-to-action, "the new Government is going to try to: smash the welfare state by PS12bn, privatise the [National Health Service], raise tuition fees, decimate local services, make strike action illegal, scapegoat migrants, worsen the housing crisis and to crush all dissent that stands in their way."
Writing about "Tory brutality" in a People's Assembly blog post on Tuesday, Ruby Utting wrote:
As a nation we are told that we are on the road to recovery, and Tory soundbites would have us believe that 'we are all in this together'... however their definition of a recovery seems to be the preservation of wealth and position for those who already have both at the cost of choice and opportunity for everyone else.
While the Tories appear to have backpedaled on a plan to repeal the country's Human Rights Act, the speech delivered Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth II indicates that the party intends to follow through on many other campaign promises.
One Tory proposal, for example, would cut the housing benefit for 18-21 year olds--a plan the social service organization St. Mungo's Broadway said would "make it extremely difficult for young people in vulnerable situations."
"Democracy doesn't end at the ballot box and it never ever has."
--Hannah Sketchley, Campaign Against Fees and Cuts
Wednesday's rally and march are in direct opposition to that platform, known as the Conservative Party Manifesto.
"It really is to remind the Conservative government...that there's absolutely masses of people who are out there who they don't represent and are ready to put up a fight if they do things which they mention in their manifesto," said Hannah Sketchley, a spokeswoman for the Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC), which organized the event in Trafalgar Square. "Democracy doesn't end at the ballot box and it never ever has."
Signaling growing momentum behind the opposition movement, other anti-austerity demonstrations are planned for Saturday, May 30 and Saturday, June 20.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.