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 Crowds throng London in march against UK austerity 
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Post Crowds throng London in march against UK austerity
London (CNN) -- Amid a din of whistles and klaxons, and bearing banners emblazoned with "No cuts" and "Austerity is failing," thousands of protesters marched past London's landmarks Saturday in a show of popular anger over government cutbacks.

"I don't like the government's policy, I don't think it works and I think the most vulnerable people suffer -- that's why I'm here," said one woman on the march.

The planned cuts to services and payments that help the sick and disabled are "shameful," she said.

Culminating in a mass rally in Hyde Park, the protest, staged by unions representing public sector workers and others, reflects a rising tide of discontent among many over the austerity measures brought in or proposed by the coalition government.

Marches were also held in the Scottish city of Glasgow and Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Addressing the crowds, opposition leader Ed Miliband, of the Labour Party, criticized the government's policies as unfairly putting the burden of austerity on ordinary workers and cutting "too far, too fast."

"None of these people think that Britain owes them a living, none of these people are asking for the earth -- they just have a simple request: They want a Britain that works for them. They believe we do better as one nation," he said.

Miliband was booed, however, when he said that he could not promise "easy times," or rule out any cuts to services.

If in power, a Labour government too would have to take steps to balance the books, he said -- although he insisted it would target the country's millionaires with tax rises, rather than taking money from the poorest members of society, as he accuses the government of doing.

A banner carried by one protester put the responsibility for the country's woes squarely on the shoulders of the prime minister, proclaiming "Cameron has butchered Britain."

But speaking at his Conservative Party's national conference earlier this month, David Cameron defended the government's austerity program, saying "painful decisions" had to be made to bring down the deficit.

He acknowledged, though, that the path ahead was not easy. "Here's the truth," Cameron said. "The damage was worse than we thought, and it's taking longer than we hoped."

But public sector worker Lee Billingham, 42, said life was getting too tough for many, as costs continue to rise.

"I think the deficit is an excuse to cut our wages and cut public services," he told CNN. "My pay has been frozen for three years now and it's really hard to make ends meet."

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Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/20/world/europe/uk-anti-austerity-march/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

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Sat Oct 20, 2012 10:52 am
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Post Re: Crowds throng London in march against UK austerity
It will only get Worse.

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Sat Oct 20, 2012 5:47 pm
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Post Re: Crowds throng London in march against UK austerity
Marches like this are a waste of time imo!

What have they actually achieved - other than WARNING those in power that they need to act somewhere else so as not to raise the Eire of the people!

Proper REVOLUTION is what is needed!


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Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:22 am
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