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
Protesters Against NHS Privatization Occupy Westminster Bridge
Up to 2,000 UK Uncut activists and health workers join in Block the Bridge, Block the Bill demonstration
Oct 09, 2011
Anti-cuts campaigners and health workers have joined forces in central London in protest against the planned shakeup of the NHS.
More than 2,000 people staged a sit-down protest on Westminster Bridge from 1pm on Sunday to highlight the health and social care bill, which is due to go before the House of Lords this week.
The bridge, normally one of London's busiest, links St Thomas's hospital on the southern bank with the Houses of Parliament.
As Big Ben struck 1pm protesters unfurled banners and sat down, blocking the bridge in both directions as hundreds of police looked on.
UK Uncut, the anti-cuts group which organized the Block the Bridge, Block the Bill demonstration, said: "Today has brought together doctors, nurses, parents, students, unions, pensioners and children together in an unprecedented act of mass civil disobedience.
"We are occupying the bridge because the bill would be bad for the NHS, bad for patients and bad for society."
The protest drew support from people across the UK. Janet Bennett, a pensioner who had traveled down from Liverpool said: "The NHS is so important to people in this country and we need to stand up and protect it from this creeping privatization, and this is why I am here today."
Susan Secher, 53, a human resources manager from London said: "Our greatest fear is that the NHS will end up as an insurance-based two- or three-tier system ... the bill is being pushed through and this is our last chance to stop it and people are becoming desperate."
Just after 2pm, protesters dressed up as medics unfurled a banner over the side of the bridge reading "Save our NHS".
Sam, a therapy radiographer from London, said: "The NHS is the greatest invention in this country's history, providing universal healthcare for all. If it is sold to private companies this will no longer be the case."
The second reading of the bill on Tuesday and Wednesday has more than 80 peers tabled to speak.
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.
Anti-cuts campaigners and health workers have joined forces in central London in protest against the planned shakeup of the NHS.
More than 2,000 people staged a sit-down protest on Westminster Bridge from 1pm on Sunday to highlight the health and social care bill, which is due to go before the House of Lords this week.
The bridge, normally one of London's busiest, links St Thomas's hospital on the southern bank with the Houses of Parliament.
As Big Ben struck 1pm protesters unfurled banners and sat down, blocking the bridge in both directions as hundreds of police looked on.
UK Uncut, the anti-cuts group which organized the Block the Bridge, Block the Bill demonstration, said: "Today has brought together doctors, nurses, parents, students, unions, pensioners and children together in an unprecedented act of mass civil disobedience.
"We are occupying the bridge because the bill would be bad for the NHS, bad for patients and bad for society."
The protest drew support from people across the UK. Janet Bennett, a pensioner who had traveled down from Liverpool said: "The NHS is so important to people in this country and we need to stand up and protect it from this creeping privatization, and this is why I am here today."
Susan Secher, 53, a human resources manager from London said: "Our greatest fear is that the NHS will end up as an insurance-based two- or three-tier system ... the bill is being pushed through and this is our last chance to stop it and people are becoming desperate."
Just after 2pm, protesters dressed up as medics unfurled a banner over the side of the bridge reading "Save our NHS".
Sam, a therapy radiographer from London, said: "The NHS is the greatest invention in this country's history, providing universal healthcare for all. If it is sold to private companies this will no longer be the case."
The second reading of the bill on Tuesday and Wednesday has more than 80 peers tabled to speak.
Anti-cuts campaigners and health workers have joined forces in central London in protest against the planned shakeup of the NHS.
More than 2,000 people staged a sit-down protest on Westminster Bridge from 1pm on Sunday to highlight the health and social care bill, which is due to go before the House of Lords this week.
The bridge, normally one of London's busiest, links St Thomas's hospital on the southern bank with the Houses of Parliament.
As Big Ben struck 1pm protesters unfurled banners and sat down, blocking the bridge in both directions as hundreds of police looked on.
UK Uncut, the anti-cuts group which organized the Block the Bridge, Block the Bill demonstration, said: "Today has brought together doctors, nurses, parents, students, unions, pensioners and children together in an unprecedented act of mass civil disobedience.
"We are occupying the bridge because the bill would be bad for the NHS, bad for patients and bad for society."
The protest drew support from people across the UK. Janet Bennett, a pensioner who had traveled down from Liverpool said: "The NHS is so important to people in this country and we need to stand up and protect it from this creeping privatization, and this is why I am here today."
Susan Secher, 53, a human resources manager from London said: "Our greatest fear is that the NHS will end up as an insurance-based two- or three-tier system ... the bill is being pushed through and this is our last chance to stop it and people are becoming desperate."
Just after 2pm, protesters dressed up as medics unfurled a banner over the side of the bridge reading "Save our NHS".
Sam, a therapy radiographer from London, said: "The NHS is the greatest invention in this country's history, providing universal healthcare for all. If it is sold to private companies this will no longer be the case."
The second reading of the bill on Tuesday and Wednesday has more than 80 peers tabled to speak.
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.