Unions and activists unite for demo
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Sheffield on Saturday as part of a nationwide day of campaign against the Con-Dem spending cuts.
Unions and campaigners attending the huge demonstration included PCS, NUT, pensioners' groups, trades councils, GMB, Unision, Unite, Green Party, Labour Party, Communist Party of Britain, unemployed activist groups and Socialist Workers Party among many more.
TUC deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady (right) said the union organisation was "fully behind you" in the fight against these savage cuts and invited the demonstrators to join the "biggest, boldest" mass rally in London next March.
She added: "Today London FBU striking firefighters are trying to protect the people's services - we stand shoulder to shoulder with them."
Sheffield Liberal Democrat councillor Ben Curran annouced at the rally that he had defected to Labour because of "lack of resistance" shown by his party locally to the cutbacks and the "disgraceful decision" to cancel a government loan to local company Forgemasters.
"As Sheffield Lib Dem councillors, we were asked to defend what turned out to be a completely unjustifiable decision and it soon transpired that all the reasons in favour of cancelling the loan were just a pack of lies," he told the rally.
Mr Curran's decision could mean the Liberal Democrats losing control of Sheffield City Council.
Sheffield Central Labour MP Paul Blomfield MP demanded that his fellow Sheffield MP and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg steps down as MP for Hallam.
"The people of Sheffield did not elect him to savage Britain by working with the Tories - he has betrayed the people of Sheffield," he said to massive loud cheers.
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