News / IN-DEPTH / Politics / Economy / Editor's Choice

Protestors descend upon Tory Party Conference in Manchester

Tuesday, 03 October 2023 10:18 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 03 October 2023 10:18 AM ]

Thousands of people protest through the streets of Manchester as the Conservative Party Conference begins (Image: Manchester Evening News)

It seems wherever the Conservatives go these days, protests follow them as has been the case with the party's annual conference in Manchester, leading to campaigners and union members turning out in their thousands, airing a long list of grievances.

Britain is broken, everything from the environment, to education, to the health service, to public sector, and basically, as somebody who lives here, we deserve so much better.

Mancunian Protestor 01

Tories out

Tories out: Mass demo greets UK ruling party's annual gathering

Thousands of protesters gather in Manchester in protest against the government

Environment, finance for crises, human rights, we don't even know where to start. Everything!

Mancunian Protestor 02

When Rishi Sunak took over as prime minister, he pledged to halve inflation, get the economy growing, reduce the national debt, cut hospital waiting lists, and, tackle irregular immigration. One year has passed and he's yet to deliver on any of those promises.

You name it, education, school buildings crumbling, the NHS, they are the destructive party and I would have more respect for them if they changed their name.

Mancunian Protestor 03

UK schools and the “crumbling concrete” closures

UK schools and the “crumbling concrete” closures

More than a hundred schools in the UK will be closed or partially shut over safety concerns regarding, RAAC, a type of concrete used in the schools which is liable to crumbling.

The Conservatives have tried to sell the UK 2019 withdrawal from the European Union as a success story. But the impact Brexit continues to have on the country is not lost on its opponents who also think today's crises have a long history.

This is a cycle which began with the neoliberal economics of Margaret Thatcher and has now lasted for decades.

And now we can see what the result of that is. The Tory Party, of course, were never going to make Brexit work for ordinary people.

They were going to treat it just like they treat every other crisis, as an opportunity for them and for the rich and for the corporations.

John Rees, Writer & Activist

Industrial action in the UK has gone nationwide

Industrial action in the UK has gone nationwide

Half a million people from across the public sector came out on the streets in England and Wales demanding better pay and working conditions.

The current demonstration comes off the back of multiple public sectors strikes over pay disputes in the past year, with some still ongoing.

After so many years in power the conservatives have gotten used to their annual conferences being a rather quiet and comfortable affair. But this is turning out to be very different. The call for change is in the air.