Thousands rally in Manchester against austerity

A crowd of at least 60,000 anti-austerity protesters in Manchester was chaperoned by snipers, who carefully watched over the march which had been staged to coincide with the Conservative Party conference held in the city.

GMP Chief Superintendent John O’Hare said the “overwhelming majority” of demonstrators exercised their democratic right to protest with dignity and good grace’.

“The fact that only four arrests have been made throughout the day so far was particularly pleasing”.

He [the delegate] was goading the crowd and he got his comeuppance.

Portions of the protest at times turned nasty, with a group egging a young man and one journalist reportedly being spat on.

“And if union organisers forget to wear an armband on a picket line, employers will be able to rush to the courts to get the strike called off. The British people don’t want their police officers monitoring what trade unionists post on social media or checking if they are wearing the correct armband”.

A variety of slogans featured on mass-produced and home-made placards, including Cut War Not Welfare, Don’t Bomb Syria, No Cuts and Divine Discontent, Divine Disobedience.

The abuse came despite Labour leader and pacifist Jeremy Corbyn’s call for “kinder” politics and his appeal for activists to “focus on policy and take no part in personal attacks”.

Several costumes and banners featured images of pigs, poking fun at Prime Minister David Cameron over allegations made in a controversial biography about a freakish student ritual.

Among those was Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, who told the rally the protest was “sending a very clear message to this Tory Government” that they faced a fightback.

City police confirmed the activists’ worst fears, but insisted that the snipers had ben placed on the roofs “purely for observation” as they supported the security on the ground of the event.

A report published Friday by the Open Europe think tank, which examined recent public statement by the Conservative Party’s 330 lawmakers, found that 69 would probably back an exit from the European Union, with 203 likely to swing either way.

The TUC is also holding a march in response to the planned government policy to reduce the rights of Trade Unions to strike. He explained “we are showing the numbers of people who are here to say that we are not accepting any more cuts, and that refugees are welcome here”.

A regional daily’s political reporter was spat at by protesters while covering the Tory Party’s annual conference yesterday.