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Thousands of people have marched in the rain from Embankment to Trafalgar Square in central London in a huge ‘Britain is Broken’ austerity protest.
Waving banners reading ‘Tories Out’ and some bearing the RMT union logo, protesters from the People’s Assembly, supported by Unison, are calling for a general election.
The People’s Assembly has said the action is also over low pay and the repeal of ‘anti-union’ employment laws.
The huge protest was joined by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, his old shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and head of the RMT union Mick Lynch.
Meanwhile, a climate protestor walked through London almost naked to demand all new houses are built with ‘swift bricks’, which provide a home for birds.
Several Just Stop Oil protestors were arrested at the end of the march in Trafalgar Square when sat in the road to block traffic.
Activist Hannah Bourne-Taylor walked through the streets of London almost naked and painted as a bird to demand new houses are built with bricks that birds can live in
Head of the RMT union Mick Lynch was at the protest, after months of organising strikes on the railways
Thousands marched through the streets of London today in protest over austerity and spending cuts by the government
There was a heavy police presence to keep order at the protest as it filed through the centre of the city in the early afternoon
Hannah Bourne-Taylor stands outside the gates of Downing Street covered in bird paintings this afternoon to demand better protections and homes for wildlife
The activist walked from Speaker’s Corner (pictured) to Downing Street with her whole body painted with blue feathers
Conservationist protestor Ms Bourne-Taylor stands outside Buckingham Palace to demand all new houses are built with ‘swift bricks’ for birds
Ms Bourne-Taylor lights a flare outside the Houses of Parliament in central London as part of her protest
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (centre) and his old shadow Chancellor John McDonnell joined the rally in central London
The huge ‘Britain is broken’ demonstration was organised by the People’s Assembly in protest to austerity and budget cuts
Many protestors in the march called for a general election after Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak both became Prime Minister without a public vote in just the last few months
Extinction Rebellion were also present at the huge demonstration and called for the government to act on the cost of living and the environment
The protestors made a huge range of demands on placards and slogans, with the most prevalent a demand to stop austerity as fears grow over public sector cuts in the budget later this month.
There was also a strong union presence in support of the huge range of strikes over the last few months which have included rail workers and barristers.
Some held signs protesting the government’s approach to climate change, including Just Stop Oil activists, while others demanded a boycott of the controversial 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Extinction rebellion protestors carried a sign saying ‘we can’t afford this any more’ as they called on Rishi Sunak’s government to act on the cost of living and climate change crises.
There were also anti-nuclear demonstrators who called for ‘wages not weapons’ and protestors calling on the Prime Minister not to reform the Equality Act.
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The huge ‘Britain is broken’ demonstration was organised by the People’s Assembly to protest austerity and end employment laws which restrict unions.
The protestors marched from Embankment station by the Thames past Parliament and on to Trafalgar Square (pictured)
A protestor at the march in central London holds up a sign protesting against the five Conservative Prime Ministers since 2010
Just Stop Oil protestors, who have caused chaos across London in recent weeks, were also at the protest today
Demands at the protest were wide-ranging, and included calls for the government to boycott the World Cup in Qatar
Many protestors carried signs demanding a general election and an end to the Conservative government, after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss both became Prime Minister without being voted in by the public.
Ms Truss’s disastrous premiership sparked anger, centred around the highly controversial, and now almost entirely scrapped, tax cutting mini-budget.
The economic fallout from the budget worsened the UK’s economic downturn, with the Bank of England predicting this week the country is heading for its longest-ever recession.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned there will be spending cuts and tax rises as he looks to fill a £50 billion hole in the budget.
Michelle Uden brought her seven-year-old twin boys to the demonstration and said she wanted a change in leadership after struggling with the cost of living.
The 34-year-old, who cares for her husband who has epilepsy at their home in New Eltham, south-east London, said: ‘Enough is enough.
‘If we don’t stand up and fight we’ll sit down and cry.
Jeremy Corbyn addresses the assembled protestors in Trafalgar Square at the Britain is Broken demonstration
RMT leader Mick Lynch, whose union has caused travel chaos this year in a bitter pay dispute with rail operators, speaks to the crowd in Trafalgar Square
‘We want to get rid of Rishi Sunak, we want more funding for the NHS, we want that to stop being privatised.
‘We want the Tories out – it’s the only way to get change.’
She added she did not believe a general election would be called but wanted her children to see ‘democracy in action’.
Ramona McCartney, national organiser for the People’s Assembly, said: ‘The Government is in a deep crisis and the third Prime Minister in a matter of months has been decided by a tiny elite.
‘We want to make this the biggest demonstration possible to force them to a general election and in solidarity with every striking worker.’
Laura Pidcock, national secretary of the People’s Assembly, said ‘this Tory government is now totally unaccountable, but outrage is not enough’.
She added: ‘We have to come together, as a movement, to organise on the streets and in our communities, and show that our voices will not be silenced and that we want fundamental changes to the way our country is run.
‘We will not get that from the politicians, we will only get that from the strength of a united, vibrant movement of working-class people coming together, building together and making change together.’
