LONDON (Dispatches) – Thousands of people across the UK have held rallies to protest against the rising cost of living and inflation.
The “Enough is Enough” rallies, organized by worker unions and climate change activists, were held in all major UK cities, including the capital London.
“People can’t continue to live like this,” said Tim, one of the protesters at King’s Cross, demanding a pay raise to match rising inflation, unprecedented in 40 years.
“I have colleagues at work who have worked out their weekly money and they can’t afford to actually live once they pay their fuel bills and once they pay all the other rising costs,” he said.
“One of my colleagues, his rent’s gone up 17 percent just last week, 17%! We’re not getting any kind of pay raise like that. Our pay raise at the moment was something about 8 percent. That’s a massive pay cut for us,” he noted. “That’s why we’re here today. Supporting the RMT (Maritime and Transport Union) and the CWU (Communication Workers Union), the post office (who) are on strike today, as well, because it’s time for working people to get together and to take action.”
Helen, another protester at King’s Cross, said she was there because she was against the current right-wing government.
She said the country’s latest prime minister is “on the far, far right ... people are going to really suffer in all sorts of ways.”
“And we don’t know where it’s going to end. We need to get rid of them. We need to get rid of this Tory government.”
Helen also said the mini-budget, a measure recently revealed by the government, which gave massive tax cuts for those earning more than £150,000 ($167,000) would be “disastrous for this country.” “I mean, we need to sort of seize the initiative on the left and get rid of these people. I mean, it means real hardship for people. It means it affects pensions. It affects people’s rents, people’s mortgages, people’s gas bills, everything. People don’t afford it.”
The protesters said they were there “for the climate and against the horrific cost of living.”
Describing the mini-budget as a measure, “for the rich” some protesters said: “We are determined to survive and we’re demanding caring for all those who care for people and the planet, the land, the environment, their home, and the community.”
“And, we think that’s the only way we can survive and save the planet ... We’re demanding back all the money that’s been stolen, that belongs to us. We intend to get it back,” she said.
The British pound has plunged to an all-time low against the dollar with investors looking for exits after the new Tory government’s fiscal plan threatened to stretch the crisis-battered country’s finances to breaking point.
Meanwhile, protesters marched on Saturday against soaring inflation and the rising cost of living in western Germany.
Gathering in the city center of Cologne, hundreds of protesters chanted, “Enough is enough: Prices have to fall”, Anadolu news agency reported.
Protesting against rising inflation, especially in energy prices, demonstrators called on the authorities tackle to this issue and take measure.
Protesters emphasized that tens of thousands of people were driven into poverty due to rising prices and that many could not pay their gas and electricity bills, while many opportunists, especially energy companies, are taking advantage of this situation.