This Saturday we expect to see thousands of people taking to the streets of London to demonstrate about how the government has decided to implement its austerity measures.

This demonstration will be attended by over 50 people travelling on a CoR / TUC coach from Scunthorpe. They will join another 850 coaches from around the country and 10 specially chartered trains to march from the Victoria Embankment to a rally in Hyde Park.

Any one attending the demonstration can tweet pictures, videos and updates to the live coverage on the www.VisitScunthorpe.Com web site using the hash tag #NLDemo, we'd really appreciate seeing what you all get up to!

There will however be another demonstration and march at the same time in Scunthorpe, meeting at Church Square to set off at 12:00 pm, and walking through the town to Pitwood House.

The Scunthorpe demonstration has been organised independently of any trade union or the involvement of any political party by two local Mum's who have had enough of the cuts affecting local people.

Cheryl Douglas one of the organisers of tomorrow's march told Visit Scunthorpe "We are sick of the cuts! For example, the plumbing course at the local college is being cut and this is another opportunity where young lads will loose out yet again."

As the demonstration moves through the town, shoppers will be encouraged to write to Number 10 demanding an alternative to the cuts, and to sign their anti cuts petition.

All these people are marching because they believe that there is an alternative to the cuts which are being implemented by the government.

The measures announced in the two budgets introduced by the Coalition Government take money out of the pocket of working families, the poor, pensioners and those on benefit and looking for work.

VAT is an unfair tax as every one pays the same amount regardless of income. Increases in VAT hit low income families hardest, first.

The VAT increase on fuel in January raised prices at the pumps in January by 5 pence a litre. The "Saving" of 1 penny announced in the budget is a poor attempt by the Government to calm working families, road users and the transport industry.

What has the bank bail out cost me?

�1.5 Trillion has been spent bailing out the banks. The taxpayer owns �850 Billion worth of bank Assets. The Bankers them selves have been paid over �7Billion in bonuses so far this year alone.

Is this fair?

Why should hard working families suffer when bankers profit from their mistakes, paid for by the tax payer?

Lets put these numbers in context

All the cuts and austerity measures are small fry compared to these incomprehensible numbers.

To put it in almost imaginable terms here's some smaller numbers

In the UK in 2010/11 there are (According to HMRC) 30,600,000 income tax payers.

The personal cost to each individual UK tax payer of the bank bail out is �49,000.

The reduction in funding received by North Lincolnshire is �19 Million.

So What is the Alternative to Cuts?

Instead of hitting working families and individuals the government needs to look at its own record for tax collection and tax avoidance.

There are over 1,400 tax "loopholes" in the current legislation.

Rich Companies and individuals get away with dodging �95Billion per year in unpaid tax which the government makes little effort to address.

Large high street stores (like Boots) continue to trade in the UK but move their headquarters abroad where corporation tax is lower, this again deprives the Inland Revenue of Billions of pounds every year while we, the honest tax payers continue to pay, and face cuts.

The same can be said of the banks. The �7Billion they are paying them selves in bonuses is greater that the first round of spending cuts.

If the banker's greed was not so, then we would not need the cuts announced prior to the budget and education would continue to be affordable to working families.

A transaction tax of just 2% would generate an estimated income of �50Billion each year from the banks. Is this too much to ask of a sector which has taken �49,000 of each and every UK Tax payer?

What Can I Do?

The public opposition to the poll tax not only stopped the government dead in its tracks, it also brought about the demise of the Iron Lady.

Only through massive civil opposition to these cuts can any difference be made.

There is an alternative to the Government Austerity measures. Unfortunately you don't hear about it in the main stream press as these are the very organisations which take advantages of the government tax loop holes, so they don't want you to know, it would cost them money!

Write to your MP, Write to the Chancellor, Write to the press. If you can not make it to the demonstrations this weekend, email, text and SMS the news providers asking them to cover the events in more details.

Tell your neighbours, friends and work colleagues, think globally, but act locally.

If you can't make it down to London, then there's a demonstration in Scunthorpe on the 26th at 12pm, Church Square. Come down, make your opposition known and your voices heard.


The government is there for the people, if enough people say enough is enough they they will face no alternative other than to consider the alternative.