London Calling

[marmar]

from BBC:



Protesters begin London march against spending cuts


Organisers of the march expect more than 100,000 people to take part


People from across the country have started a march in London in protest at the coalition government's spending cuts.

The Trades Union Congress predicts more than 100,000 people will join the march, to be policed by 4,500 police.

The TUC said it was deploying more than 1,000 stewards to ensure the event remained "family friendly".

Ministers say the cuts are necessary to fix the public finances and critics must come up with an alternative. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12864353

[xchrom]

1. ...

:applause:

[SoCalDem]

2. The UK has a sistinct advantage over us.,

They can call for a vote of no confidence & change their government..and do it quickly... we always have to wait out the terms of the ne'er-do-wells who sneak into office, and by then they can do a whole lot of damage...and if it's republicans doing the damage, our media covers for them:(

[LeftishBrit]

8. Unfortunately the government are trying to make this more difficult

They are trying to introduce 5-year fixed-term governments, with any vote of no confidence requiring 55% (not 50%) of the MPs. Coincidentally, I am sure, :sarcasm: this government is a very unstable coalition which probably wouldn't last 2 years without imposing such a rule.

[starroute]

3. I was just checking Twitter -- it sounds huge

People claiming 450,000-500,000 marchers. Stuff going on all over London. I'm still trying to find out more.

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%2326march

[starroute]

4. From Indymedia

http://london.indymedia.org/articles/8096

Hundreds of thousands of people are marching through central London today. The demontrators are protesting against government austerity measures which force the bulk of the population, and especially public sector workers, to pay for the economic crisis which erupted out of the banking sector two years ago.

Most of the demonstrators - trade unionists, families, and people against the austerity measures - will take part in the officially-sanctioned TUC demonstration. In addition, many groups have signaled their willingness to do more than march, with protest actions being called for by multiple groups. Fast-moving direct action groups are currently moving through London's West End, the high-class shopping district.

Upate 4.30: To emphasise the point of the protest, the Samba group is marching towards Oxford Circus with a coffin to represent the funeral for public services we are faced with. Oxford circus sit-in and street party still happening, with a few thousand people there. 30 police vans have arrived to the north of Oxford Circus, 6 have arrived to the west. Some experienced people on the street are saying that they think a kettle appears likely. Tactical Support Group (TSG) is active in the area. 13 shops have successfully targeted in Oxford Street. Paint bombs have been launched at the Apple Store on Regent Street. A few thousand protesters are still partying at the Oxford Circus sit-in. Hundreds have occupied swanky food and drink superstore Fortnum and Mason (image), chanting 'You can stick your royal wedding up your arse!' Red and black flags are being waved outside the store's windows, where protesters are creatively opposing the multiple-million pound tax dodgers.

[TBF]

5. Nice to see someone resisting the austerity measures. nt

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[Shagbark Hickory]

7. I saw some footage of that on CCTV (China) and the signs they were holding up looked like the same

shit they would be protesting about here.
"Protect womens' right to choose"
"Free healthcare for all"

What? Huh? Don't they already have free healthcare for all?
Are you telling me they have the abortion debate there too?
Good grief. Nowhere is safe from this shit.