March for the Alternative
| March for the Alternative | |||
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| Part of anti-austerity protests in the United Kingdom | |||
March for the Alternative TUC branding and demonstrators on the streets of central London
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| Date | 26 March 2011 | ||
| Location |
Central London 51°30′39″N 0°09′43″W / 51.5109°N 0.1620°WCoordinates: 51°30′39″N 0°09′43″W / 51.5109°N 0.1620°W |
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| Goals | To show that people oppose the extent and pace of the government's programme of spending cuts and to reject their argument that there is "no alternative" to those cuts | ||
| Status | Concluded | ||
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| Arrested and charged | |||
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The 2011 anti-cuts protest in London, also known as the March for the Alternative, was a demonstration held in central London on 26 March 2011. Organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), it was a protest march against planned public spending cuts by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government that was formed in May 2010.
Various sources estimated that the demonstration was attended by between 250,000 and 500,000 people. It was described as the largest protest in the United Kingdom since the 15 February 2003 anti-Iraq War protest and the largest union-organised rally in London since the Second World War.
Demonstrators marched from the Thames Embankment, via the Houses of Parliament, to Hyde Park where a rally took place with speakers including the TUC general secretary Brendan Barber and leader of the opposition Ed Miliband, who addressed the assembled crowds.
Several independent protesting groups, some of whom had moved from the main march, assembled further north in the heart of London's West End, where shops and banks were vandalised and some individuals clashed with police. Further clashes were reported later in Trafalgar Square. 201 people were arrested, and 66 were injured, including 31 police officers.
In May 2010, the United Kingdom general election resulted in a hung parliament and the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats entered into a coalition government. The Conservative leader David Cameron became Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg became Deputy Prime Minister.
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