Thousands will be marching against the cuts
Symon Hill looks ahead to the 26 March
Quakers will gather in London this Saturday alongside thousands of people from other faith groups in a major national protest against the government cuts. The groups, who will march with other, secular organisations, are in unity on a shared concern: the effect the cuts will have on the quality of life of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society.
The demonstration is entitled ‘March for the Alternative’ and has been organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) with the support of the Coalition of Resistance, a network of anti-cuts groups.
A Quaker Meeting for Worship will take place at Westminster Meeting House at 11.30am, before the march gets underway at noon. There will also be an ecumenical Christian service at St-Martin’s-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square at 11.00am.
‘I really hope that church banners will be seen alongside union and community banners,’ explained Graham Martin, a Christian member of the Coalition of Resistance national council. He said that churches and Meetings should join in ‘as they did with campaigns like Make Poverty History and Jubilee 2000’.
Ceri Owen of Friargate Meeting linked her opposition to the cuts to her Quaker faith. Friends ‘have a long tradition of upholding the value of people beyond mere economic utility,’ she said.
She is helping to organise a group of disabled people travelling to the demonstration from York. ‘Some of us need support from the NHS and social care, like people need food, just to survive,’ she explained. She added: ‘A lot of friends who will be worst affected by the cuts aren’t able to manage the march, so I want to go to take their messages, as well as mine.’
Some faith groups have gone further than others. The Common Wealth network of ‘Christians for economic justice’ have attacked capitalism and the ‘false worship of markets’. The network’s Chris Howson, an Anglican minister in Bradford, called for Christians to rediscover their tradition of ‘entering the place of the moneychangers and those who profit from the poor, and driving them out’.
The campaigners have been criticised from several quarters. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg insisted ‘We are not a cuts government’. He said Liberal Democrats have ‘put down our placards and taken up the reins of power’. Critics of the demonstration argue that it will be entirely negative, with no emphasis on positive policies to replace cuts.
Niall Cooper, chief executive of Church Action on Poverty, insisted: ‘There is an alternative’. The Student Christian Movement (SCM) contrasted the billions spent on renewing nuclear weapons with the cuts to higher education budgets and the ‘hike’ in tuition fees.
‘A lot of the cuts won’t even save money,’ insisted Ceri Owen. She gave the example of a friend who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital after the outpatient support she received was cut by half. The hospital costs more than the previous support.
Niall Cooper insisted that anyone can play a part in resisting the cuts, whether or not they are able to attend the demonstration. ‘There are a variety of things that people can do,’ he said, ‘They can give money to us or to other organisations. They can take action by email. They can lobby their MP. They can pray.’
Penny Markell of Westminster Meeting said she is ‘really disappointed’ that she is unable to attend the protest due to a personal commitment. She told the Friend that: ‘It’s important that there continues to be a strong voice saying we don’t believe these cuts are necessary or right.’
She added that the government needed to hear the message: ‘We’re not going to shut up about it. You need to start listening.’
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