Thousands demand general elections in ‘Britain is Broken’ protest
Thousands have rallied in central London, demanding general elections and action on low wages.
The huge "Britain is Broken" demonstration was organized by the People's Assembly, supported by groups including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Unite, Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, to protest austerity and employment laws which restrict unions.
Demonstrators marched in the rain from Embankment to Trafalgar Square where Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) spoke, vowing to “strike and strike again” until a “fair deal” was brokered for rail workers.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also spoke during the anti-government demonstration and criticized the policies of the Conservative party, emphasizing that the government will “eventually be forced to listen”.
“The people out here are very determined. They’re not going to see people with disabilities discriminated against, they’re not going to see growing impoverishment in our society,” he said.
Many protesters in the march demanded general elections and an end to the Conservative government after former Liz Truss and current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak both went to office without a public vote in the last few months.
Ramona McCartney, national organizer for the People's Assembly, said, “The government is in a deep crisis and the third Prime Minister in a matter of months was decided by a tiny elite.”
“We want to make this the biggest demonstration possible to force them to a general election,” she said.
She called on the working class to join the demonstration and take part in the fight against the new wave of austerity the government is forcing on its people.
Despite demands to hold a general election, the Conservative party denies any call to an election until 2024.
Truss spooked the market by her budget plan, sparking anger as the cost-of-living crisis for millions of people in the UK increased. She was forced to step down, triggering emergency buying of UK government bonds by the Bank of England.
Sunak is now hinting at tax hikes in a fresh budget on November 17.
The economic fallout from the budget worsened the UK's economic downturn, with the Bank of England predicting the country is heading for its longest-ever recession since records began as it lifted interest rates by the most in more than three decades to combat a two-digit inflation.
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