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Huge anti-austerity rally in London

Huge anti-austerity rally in London

Tens of thousands of British citizens have taken to the streets of the capital London and Glasgow to protest against the Conservative government’s austerity policies.

The protest organized by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity has begun outside the Bank of England near the houses of parliament.

According to Press TV's correspondent in London, Narges Moballeghi, people from different walks of life including firefighters, teachers and medical workers have joined the massive rally. 

This is expected to be the largest anti-austerity protest in London since Conservatives won recent elections. 

The Conservatives managed to secure 331 seats of parliament against Labor with 232 seats. The results proved shocking for most observers as polls predicted a neck and neck competition.

During the past months, similar protests have been held in London. The protesters are angry that a party with only about 37% of the vote has a majority in government. They say the Tory's will destroy the country even further in the next five years with austerity and the dismantling of public services leaving the poor even more worse off.

The government says austerity measures are vital to cut the deficit. 

To stop Saturday's protest, UK police had increased pressure on anti-government activists by handing fresh bail conditions. Media reports said police had launched a crackdown on activists previously linked to direct action protests before Saturday's demonstration. 

To this end, three activists arrested on suspicion of offences at earlier demonstrations have been handed fresh bail conditions forbidding them from attending the protest march on Saturday, sources have told the Guardian.

Earlier, Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn slammed the government’s austerity policies as a mask for inequality.

Corbyn urged people across the country not to accept the Tory agenda of cuts and reduced welfare, saying it takes a collective movement focused on achieving equality to counter the Tories. He is seen as the socialist left wing candidate compared to Liz Kendall, Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham. Corbyn has rallied against New Labour ever since its inception under Tony Blair.

He believes that "Britain has become a more unequal society, is becoming a more unequal society and austerity is a cover for actually deepening that level of inequality…we have more people than ever using foodbanks, we have a greater number of people being homeless and many people in housing stress.”

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