About 50,000 people took part in a protest in Manchester against austerity cuts and changes to the NHS, coinciding with the Conservative Party conference. The march set off from Liverpool Road at 12:15 BST, passed through the city centre, and concluded with speeches in Whitworth Park. Greater Manchester Police described it as one of the largest protests they had ever policed.
The demonstration was organised by unions. Frances O'Grady, TUC general secretary, said austerity was having a devastating effect on communities and services, with 21,000 NHS jobs lost in the preceding three months. She said the NHS was one of Britain's finest achievements and ministers would not be allowed to destroy through cuts and privatisation what had taken generations to build.
Andy Burnham, then Labour's shadow health secretary, said David Cameron needed to be forcefully reminded that he had never been given public permission to put the NHS up for sale. He said figures revealed the frightening scale and pace of NHS privatisation since Cameron's Health Act.
Among those attending was Jo McSwaine, a 22-year-old children's charity worker from Manchester, who said she did not believe in cutting public services. Her mother, Judith McSwaine, 61, had travelled from Newcastle and described the turnout as "absolutely fabulous." Catharyn Lawrence, a Unison regional organiser from Wakefield, said it showed people were standing together as a collective force.
Responding to the protest, a Department of Health spokeswoman said there was no government policy to privatise NHS services. She said the NHS would remain free for everyone, but patients should get the best service regardless of who provides it. Charities, social enterprises and independent providers had played an important part in providing NHS care for many years.
