Bonfire night protestors vented their anger at high street shops, restaurants and banks in Manchester last night for ‘tax avoidance and financial incompetence’.
A David Cameron guy and mocked-up wanted posters condemning RBS, Starbucks, Tesco and others were paraded down Manchester’s Market Street.
The march, which began at 5pm on Bridge Street, was arranged by the Manchester People’s Assembly.
Chair of the Manchester People’s Assembly, Penny Hicks, told MM that the reason for the tour was to give a voice to the ‘poorest in our society’ against the current government.
“It’s about bringing together people together from all different unions and campaigns to oppose austerity,” she said.
“We oppose a government who pay for the deficit by asking the poorest in our society to cough up instead of the banks.
“The vulnerable, the sick, the disabled, the people who are at the mercy of the Bedroom Tax; these are not the people that can pay for austerity and that is why we are here tonight.”
It was reported in October of last year that US coffee giant Starbucks paid just £8.6million in corporation tax over 14 years in the UK while the Royal Bank of Scotland reporting the biggest annual loss in British corporate history in 2009.
Plaques with slogans such as ‘No Cuts’ and ‘Hands off our NHS’ were accompanied by drummers and a David Cameron guy as around 150 young and old marched passed the Arndale Shopping Centre.
One protester vented his frustration at the government and hailed the protest as a great method for change.
“This government’s agenda and privatisation, particularly to do with the NHS, is a detriment to the entire population,” said Conor McGurran, 20, from the Save our NHS Society of the University of Manchester.
“There is such a high level of frustration among people and particularly the young. These visible shows of how frustrated people are can only force the government to change.”
Elsewhere in the country, Comedian Russell Brand joined hundreds of anti-austerity protestors as they marched from Trafalgar Square in London towards Buckingham Palace.
Simon Redfern, director Corporate Affairs for Starbucks UK, said: “Earlier this year our customers gave us a clear message that they did not want us to wait until we were profitable before we paid corporation tax.
“We committed to paying £20million over the next two years and are on track with those payments.”
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