An
estimated 50,000 people in London addressed by speakers, including Russell
Brand, after People's Assembly march
theguardian.com,
Kevin Rawlinson and agencies, Saturday 21 June 2014
Tens of thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday afternoon in protest at austerity measures introduced by the coalition government. The demonstrators gathered before the Houses of Parliament, where they were addressed by speakers, including comedians Russell Brand and Mark Steel.
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| Russell Brand told the marchers there will be a 'peaceful, effortless, joyful revolution' against austerity in the UK. Photograph: Rex Features |
Tens of thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday afternoon in protest at austerity measures introduced by the coalition government. The demonstrators gathered before the Houses of Parliament, where they were addressed by speakers, including comedians Russell Brand and Mark Steel.
An
estimated 50,000 people marched from the BBC's New Broadcasting House in
central London to Westminster.
"The
people of this building [the House of Commons] generally speaking do not
represent us, they represent their friends in big business. It's time for us to
take back our power," said Brand.
"This
will be a peaceful, effortless, joyful revolution and I'm very grateful to be
involved in the People's Assembly."
"Power
isn't there, it is here, within us," he added. "The revolution that's
required isn't a revolution of radical ideas, but the implementation of ideas
we already have."
A spokesman
for the People's Assembly, which organised the march, said the turnout was
"testament to the level of anger there is at the moment".
He said
that Saturday's action was "just the start", with a second march
planned for October in conjunction with the Trades Union Congress, as well as
strike action expected next month.
People's
Assembly spokesman Clare Solomon said: "It is essential for the welfare of
millions of people that we stop austerity and halt this coalition government
dead in its tracks before it does lasting damage to people's lives and our
public services."
Sam
Fairburn, the group's national secretary, added: "Cuts are killing people
and destroying cherished public services which have served generations."
Activists
from the Stop The War Coalition and CND also joined the demonstration.
The crowds
heard speeches at Parliament Square from People's Assembly supporters,
including Caroline Lucas MP and journalist Owen Jones. Addressing the marchers,
Jones said: "Who is really responsible for the mess this country is in? Is
it the Polish fruit pickers or the Nigerian nurses? Or is it the bankers who plunged
it into economic disaster – or the tax avoiders? It is selective anger."
He added:
"The Conservatives are using the crisis to push policies they have always
supported. For example, the sell-off of the NHS. They have built a country in
which most people who are in poverty are also in work."
The
People's Assembly was set up with an open letter to the Guardian in February
2013. Signatories to letter included Tony Benn, who died in March this year,
journalist John Pilger and filmmaker Ken Loach.
In the
letter, they wrote: "This is a call to all those millions of people in
Britain who face an impoverished and uncertain year as their wages, jobs,
conditions and welfare provision come under renewed attack by the government.
"The
assembly will provide a national forum for anti-austerity views which, while
increasingly popular, are barely represented in parliament."
The
Metropolitan police refused to provide an estimate. A police spokesman said the
force had received no reports of arrests.
A spokesman
for the prime minister declined to comment.
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