LONDON (AP)—Thousands marched in central London on Saturday to protest the rising cost of living in Britain.
Huge crowds flocked to the British capital for a rally demanding that the government do more to help people facing bills and other costs rising faster than their salaries.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticized for being slow to respond to the cost of the life crisis. Inflation is on the rise across the UK and Europe as Russia’s war with Ukraine reduces energy supplies and staples such as wheat. Prices were rising even before the war as the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic led to strong consumer demand.
Unison union members and the public attend a national TUC demonstration in central London calling for action on the cost of living, a new deal for workers and higher wages for all workers. Photo date: Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo via Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)
The demonstrators carried banners that read “Stop Prosperity Not War”. They booed as they passed 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s residence, according to a video posted on social media.
Ben Robinson, who works for a housing charity in Brixton, south London, said the government did not understand how bad things were for the poor.
“We have tenants who come to our offices and choose between feeding themselves, not their own, but their children, or paying rent and heating,” he said. “It’s just not an option that everyone in the world’s fourth largest economy has to face.”
Labor Party Deputy Leader Angela Rayner (centre) attends a national TUC demonstration in central London calling for action on the cost of living, a new deal for workers and higher wages for all workers. Photo date: Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo via Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)
TUC, the union’s advisory organization that organized the protest, said its study showed it had lost a total of around £20,000 ($24,450) since 2008 as wages failed to keep up with inflation.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 18: Demonstrators hold signs as they march to protest the government’s handling of the cost of living crisis and demand a better deal for workers at a demonstration organized by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in London. , United Kingdom, 18 June 2022 Union leaders, frontline workers and community members are demanding higher wages for public sector workers in the face of inflation and rising fuel and energy prices. (Photo by Viktor Šimanović/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Johnson’s government is facing intense pressure to do more to help Britons tackle rising fuel and food prices and household electricity bills. In one instance of the household financial crisis, a data company reported that the average cost to fill a typical family vehicle was over £100 ($125).
UK Parliament says cost of living crisis caused by coronavirus lockdown, not Ukraine https://t.co/J1b2dXrRzz
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) 11 June 2022
Source: Breitbart
