Manchester set for mass protests against Tory conference

Article published: Friday, September 30th 2011

The start of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this weekend will be marked by large-scale demonstrations against the coalition government’s programme of public spending cuts.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) have mobilised on a national level for a protest march, billed as ‘Manchester for the Alternative’, to begin on Sunday afternoon, while a recently formed group, Occupy! Manchester, have called for a protest assembly in Albert Square beginning after the TUC march. An education feeder march will also be joining the main demonstration leaving from University Place on Oxford Road.

With thousands of unionists from around the UK to be bussed into Manchester on the day, and anger over the cuts widespread in the city, the demonstration could be the largest the city has seen in its recent history. Initial estimates from TUC organisers suggest 30,000 – 50,000 people could take to the streets for the march, which begins at 12 noon on Liverpool Street and passes the front of the Manchester Central Convention Centre where the Tory conference is being held.

“People here are angry. As the young are systematically attacked with tuition fees, the loss of the Educational Maintenance Allowance, and cuts to Sure Start and youth centres, those who are working in the public sector have had their pay frozen and pensions slashed,” said Geoff Brown, Secretary of Manchester Trades Union Council.

“All this is what the Tories have long wanted, but before now never dared implement. They have used the economic crisis as their opportunity. We see the demonstration on October 2 as an opportunity to rally our side.”

The Occupy! Manchester assembly in Albert Square is due to begin later in the afternoon as the march finishes. The assembly is supported by a wide range of political organisations within Manchester and further afield, including UK Uncut, the Students’ Unions of the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester Against Fees and Cuts, West Midlands Save Our NHS, and the Oldham Law Centre.

The assembly will be only a few hundred metres from the Manchester Central Convention Complex, and according to organisers is intended to allow the public to demonstrate their opposition to spending cuts and call for alternative solutions to the economic crisis.

A spokesperson for Occupy! Manchester said:

“We want this to be an assembly of protest on the doorstep of the Tory conference, a symbol of the mass opposition to the cuts and a place for real debate and discussion about the alternatives. We do not believe that any of the major political parties have the solution to our current economic and political situation, and we want our occupation to demonstrate the depth of dissatisfaction with mainstream politics.

“We have been inspired by the people’s assemblies that have happened across Europe, particularly in Greece and Spain, and more recently on Wall Street, and we want to bring this spirit to Manchester to show the Tories that they are not welcome here given the impact of their policies. Cameron won’t be able to get a wink of sleep.”

The organisers also hope to make an internet video link-up between Albert Square in Manchester, and similar protests currently taking place in New York, Madrid and Rome. Demonstrators seeking updates on the day about the occupation have been advised by organisers to follow the Occupy! Manchester twitter feed @occupyMCR.

Manchester has been one of the worst affected English local authorities in terms of cuts in central government funding. With the council attempting to reduce its spending by 8.9 per cent this year, around 2,000 jobs will be lost in the City Council alone. Unemployment in the North West is above the national average and the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that levels are continuing to rise.

Follow @manchestermule on Sunday for our updates from the protests.

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Comments

1. Most people welcome the cuts.

   Those who don’t are mainly selfish types who are the worst products of our entitlement culture – they know how to take but not to give.

   Comment by simon on September 30, 2011 at 2:38 pm

2. Bollocks

   Comment by Waste on September 30, 2011 at 4:39 pm

3. Most people welcome the cuts?

   26 March, London, anti-cuts demo: 500,000 turned out;

   14 May, London, pro-cuts demo: 250 turned out.

   People who want to pay taxes and have collective public services are selfish?

   I suppose the selfless thing to do is watch on as these lot dismantle the welfare state and ultimately keep your tax money to spend on health-care and education providers of your own choice.

   I’m starting to wonder if Simon might be a junior minister. It’s comforts me slightly that he may be this guy: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030214/Facebook-invaders-wreck-Tory-MP-Simon-Kirbys-girls-party.html

   Comment by Ben on September 30, 2011 at 6:50 pm

4. Don’t worry about simon, he’s like a scab. If you picket him he only gets worse

   Comment by richard on September 30, 2011 at 9:24 pm

5. Before this there will also be a demonstration on Saturday in the form of marches and vigil by activists from Cafod, Christian Aid and Tearfund. Their demands will be for serious and self-sacrificing action on climate change. Perhaps on a global scale this is no less fundamental and revolutionary. I’ll be one of a few thousand of griping about our pensions, but I’m also going on Saturday’s outing as I want something for the people of the Horn of Africa and my grandchilren.

   Comment by Steph Pennells on October 1, 2011 at 6:10 am

6. Ben, 500,000 people is less than 1% of the population.

   That’s a miserable turnout, and was largely comprised of public sector workers who were complaining about cuts to their own pay and conditions, making it effectively a demonstraion of employees against the proposals of their employer rather than a broad public protest. The same will apply to any demo in Manchester.

   And your argument about only 250 turning out at a demo to support the cuts is fatuous. When do people ever turn out to march to show their support for something the government is doing? I don’t remember public sector workers marching in thanks while New Labour threw money at them and hired all sorts of useless extra staff.

   All these demos against cuts to the public sector ar just selfish displays by people who expect the rest of us to keep them in secure jobs with great wages and superb pensions.

   Well, tough – the majority of us haven’t had secure jobs or superb pensions for a couple of decades now and we aren’t inclined to keep public employees in the style to which they have been accustomed.

   Comment by simon on October 2, 2011 at 12:53 pm

7. I’d have thought Manchester, being the home of Manchester liberalism would rather a welcome a party committed to laissez faire libertarianism

   Comment by Rupert on October 2, 2011 at 2:15 pm

8. So, nothing happened about the Occupy Albert Square event. You fell for total bollocks and spin!

   Comment by Sonya on October 2, 2011 at 9:01 pm

The comments are closed.