Thousands of voices raised against cuts

ABOUT 35,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Manchester as the Conservative Party conference began in the city.

The huge protest swamped the city centre yesterday, marching past the heavily-guarded venue where Prime Minister David Cameron’s party gathered.

Blowing whistles and horns and waving flags and banners claiming Cameron’s “Tory Fat Cats” were to blame for coalition public sector cuts, the noisy demonstrators chanted “Tories out!” as they began the march.

Organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), it was billed as a march and rally for “The Alternative – jobs, growth, justice” in opposition to the coalition’s axing of public services and pensions. Mainstream public sector unions and workers, including firefighters and teachers, took part along with left-wing activists.

Police were on alert for attempts to hijack the peaceful union protest, with mounted police, vans and officers lining the march route but no arrests were made.

As the march snaked past the Manchester Central Conference Centre, protesters chanted: “Tory scum, off our streets” and “David Cameron on your bike, we want a general strike!”

Gerry Collier, 64, from Manchester, said: “I’m here to show solidarity, and I’m against the government policy of cuts and attacks on pensions. The march has been good so far, there are thousands of people here, but I doubt the Tories will listen, probably not, knowing Tories.”

Mr Collier, whose job is testing fire alarms, added: “I think it’s important people are not isolated and don’t feel on their own if their bosses are having a go; people struggling and fighting the cuts, unemployment and attacks on pensions.”

At the end of the march, protesters converged for a rally.

Tony Lloyd, MP for Manchester Central, to a round of applause and cheers, told the crowd: “One blue is even less welcome here than Carlos Tevez, and that’s David Cameron. David Cameron is not welcome in this city.”

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, told the crowd: “We need a coalition of resistance, of trade unions, community groups, church organisations, and students and of our senior citizens, an amazing coalition of resistance to engage in every form of resistance, including co-ordinated industrial action. If you want to call it a general strike, then so be it.

“The reality is civil disobedience is the oldest form of democracy and we should applaud it, we should applaud direct action and fantastic organisations like UK Uncut.

“We should take our lead from the young people, the students who this time last year put 60,000 to 70,000 on the streets of London.

“Let’s raise the standard of justice, and I’m confident that justice will prevail.”

Mark Serwotka, leader of the PCS union, told the crowd every village, town and city will see picket lines on 30 November when a mass strike has been called by several unions.

He added: “If you never fight you lose every time. Now’s the time to fight, now’s the time to defeat the government.”

Police said the march has been entirely peaceful but about 50 people, from protest group “Occupy” had staged a sit down protest in Albert Square, in front of Manchester Town Hall.