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Thousands in London protest austerity drive

Dunya News

Tens of thousands of demonstrators held peaceful protest at a govt austerity drive.

Unions, anti-war campaigners, left-wing leaders, community groups and other activists poured down Londons streets in a demonstration against reductions to public sector spending which officials are pushing through in order to rein in the Britains debt, which stands at more than 1 trillion pounds ($1.7 trillion).Although the austerity program has had some modest successes the countrys deficit has dropped slightly the U.K. economy has shrunk for three consecutive quarters amid cuts at home and economic turmoil on the continent.Brendan Barber, whose Trades Union Congress helped organize the march, said that the message of Saturdays protest was that austerity is simply failing.The government is making life desperately hard for millions of people because of pay cuts for workers, while the rich are given tax cuts, he said.Britain borrowed 13 billion pounds in September alone, and with other European countries including next door neighbor Ireland struggling to make good on their debt, and there is a general consensus that the U.K. budget needs to be rebalanced.But the right-leaning government did little to endear itself with ordinary Britons when it reduced income taxes for the countrys wealthiest citizens earlier this year. And its leadership has struggled to fight perceptions of elitism which rankle many in this class-conscious country.On Friday the Conservative Partys chief whip stepped down following a dispute over whether hed described officers guarding the prime ministers official residence at Downing Street as plebs or warned them to learn your (expletive) place.