Rochdalians say 'No to austerity, no to Trident'

Philip Gilligan, Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group at the Anti Austerity march in London

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group met friends from Rochdale UNISON and Greater Manchester and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmanent (GMDCND) on the streets of London Saturday (20 June).

Marching from the Bank of England to the Houses of Parliament, they joined tens of thousands of people from around the country who were supporting the People's Assembly demonstration demanding an end to policies of austerity in public services.

They applauded speakers such as Jeremy Corbyn and Charlotte Church who condemned plans for further cuts in in health, education and social care.

They called, in particular, for the immediate scrapping of plans to spend even more public money on the Trident nuclear weapons system and for the £100 billion (£100,000,000,000) that this would cost to be spent instead on reversing the cuts being made in public services such as adult social care.

Philip Gilligan, on behalf of the Peace Group, said: "Our country does not need austerity. We do not need cuts in social care. We need to scrap Trident now and to spend our taxes on the services we need, not on weapons of mass destruction.

"Our country does not need austerity.

"We do not need cuts in social care.

"We need to scrap Trident now and to spend our taxes on the services we need, not on weapons of mass destruction.

"The government threatens essential public services with cut after cut, but it continues to waste £6.6 million a day on nuclear weapons we do not need. Cameron seems intent on squandering even more £billions on ever more dangerous but completely futile nuclear weapons. It is time for us to demand a halt to this madness."