Protest against the damaging and destructive austerity policies of the Coalition government.

A demonstration and rally in York has been called by the Yorkshire and Humber TUC to coincide with the Liberal Democrat’sSpring Conference, which is being held there.

The demo and rally will be to protest against the damaging and destructive austerity policies of the Coalition government and in particular the impact on northern communities.

The event takes place on International Women’s Day, and the speakers at the rally following the march will also reflect on the disproportionate impact of austerity on women.

There will be 5 different themes to the event, with demonstrators encouraged to adopt one for the day, and there is also a colour for placards or clothes to create a strong visual spectacle.

The themes are: jobs and fair pay (blue); tax justice (green); industrial growth (black); NHS, public services and social security (red) and young people and the future (yellow)

There will be local and national speakers at the rally and they will be looking at the damage done by austerity, highlighting the lost opportunities, and will articulate some of the many ‘better ways’ and alternatives to current government policies.

They include:

Sue Marsh – disability campaigner and blogger – Sue is an inspiring campaigner who through her blog Diary of A benefit scrounger  has helped make a difference and given people with disabilities a louder voice over what the government is doing;

Fran Heathcote, Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) DWP Group President will be taking on the attacks on those in need of social security, the rotten culture of TV shows such as Benefits Street and scapegoating of the unemployed. She will be highlighting the huge potential to fully fund public services through clamping down on tax avoidance;

Nikki Sharpe, a social entrepreneur and councillor in Sheffield. She will be highlighting the gutting of local government by the Coalition, with the poorest areas hit hardest, and Nick Clegg’s betrayal of Yorkshire and the North;

Megan Ollerhead is a campaigning student from the University of York and will speak about the repeated broken promises from Nick Clegg’s party, the cuts to Higher and Further Education and the removal of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) that helped young people from modest backgrounds to stay in education;

Liz Mawson is a NHS worker in Yorkshire and an inspiring workplace rep. She will be exposing the Coalition’s mythical ‘ring-fenced’ funding for the NHS and the scale of privatisation that is taking place without any democratic consent;

Liz Kitching, from Leeds Hands off Our Homes, is a campaigner against the Bedroom Tax, and she will be speaking about the impact of the tax on her and the many people she campaigns alongside;

Kay Carberry is Assistant General Secretary of the TUC and will be outlining ‘the better way’ our society, economy and country needs. Kay will highlight the alternatives to austerity, why Britain needs a pay rise, the importance of publicly owned services and need for a real recovery for all parts of the country;

Tracey Simpson-Laing, Deputy Leader of York City Council, and also holder of the Cabinet Portfolio of Health Housing and Adult Social Services. will be speaking about the importance of a living wage. York City Council is aliving wage employer and the city has the greatest number of accredited living wage employers outside of London.

Kate Lock is an environmental columnist, author, researcher and campaigner and writes a regular ‘green’ column for The Press in York. She has worked for the Stockholm Environment Institute and is Chair of the York Environment Forum. She will be highlighting the environmental impact of austerity cuts and outlining how the green economy can be a win-win for jobs, young people and the planet.

There is a provisional gathering start time of 11am, for the march to set off at 11.30; it will start and finish at Tower Street near Clifford’s Tower and will be followed by a rally at the Courthouse.