Cost of living protests in Birmingham to hit Conservative Party Conference at Tories meeting

A group of activists are planning to hold a protest outside the Conservative Party Conference that is to be held in Birmingham at the Internatinal Convention Centre.

The conference is being held from 2-5 October at the venue on Broad Street and Centenary Square - with more than 12,000 visitors expected to Birmingham. West Midlnads Police has launched a dedicate security operation to manage the confernece and a number of roads are closed to motorists, buses and trams throughout the event.

The Peoples Assembly have put out a call for a protest on the first day of the conference along with the TUC. The protest organisers said: “The People’s Assembly with the Midlands TUC, has arranged a demonstration which PCS is supporting, and at which PCS deputy president Martin Cavanagh will be speaking. This is the first opportunity we have had to confront the new government and show the strength of feeling amongst working people.

“As millions of people are suffering from the cost of living crisis, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled a mini budget which cut the highest rate of tax and removed the cap on bankers’ bonuses. The Tories are the party of the rich, and they are proud of it. Read our response to the budget.

“The Tories want to restart fracking, which had been abandoned in the face of public resistance and environmental concerns. They intend to continue their racist policy of sending refugees to Rwanda.

“In response to the cost of living crisis, and the government’s total lack of interest in how it is driving working people into destitution, the unions are resisting. The strikes on the railways have turned Mick Lynch into a popular hero and postal workers, telecoms workers and dockers are all involved in strike action.

“In PCS our own national ballot, involving 150,000 members, opened on Monday. Our ballot is for strike action over pay, pensions and cuts to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. It is crucial that we have a huge turnout to break the 50% threshold required by law.”

The organisers are putting on coache transport from cities across teh country with details on The People’s Assembly website

Here are the speakers expected to join the protest:

1. RMT General Secretary Mike Lynch

2. National Secretary Laura Pidcock

3. NEU General Secretary Kevin Courtney

4. UNISON West Midlands Regional Secretary Ravi Subramanian

5. TUC Midlands Regional Secretary Lee Barron

6. Black Lives Matter activist Delia Mattis

7. Stop the War convenor Lindsey German

8. Co-Convenor of Stand Up To Racism and a longstanding antiracist campaigner Weyman Bennett

9. Political activist Salma Yaqoob

10. Performance poet SPOZ

The group - which says it’s not linked to any political party - has seven demands. The demands are:

1. Cost of living crisis - cut profits, not wages.

2. Tax wealth - fund social care and social security, end fuel poverty

3. Nationalise energy, water, mail and rail

4. End Britain’s low pay crisis

5. Tories out - scrap anti-union laws

6. End the housing crisis - build council homes

7. End outsourcing and privatisation of NHS and public services

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