Anti-cuts groups descend on banks in NHS prot: Guardian

Branches occupied or picketed in day of action spearheaded by UK Uncut and unions

Police struggle with activists outside the NatWest bank in Camden Town, London, during a protest against NHS spending cuts. Photograph: Ray Tang / Rex Features

 

Protesters have been holding demonstrations outside high street banks around the UK and have succeeded in occupying a number of branches in the biggest direct action to date against proposed changes to the NHS. The national protest, designed to draw attention to the banks' role in creating the deficit, is being spearheaded by the anti-austerity campaigning group UK Uncut, which has been were joined by trade unionists and others. Activists dressed in doctors' coats and armed with fake blood had planned to enter branches and set up mock hospitals and "operating theatres". Instead they mostly staged their protests on the streets outside when branches were closed or police kept them out. After assembling shortly before midday in London, close to 100 protesters staged actions outside three banks in Camden and held a mock trial of the health secretary, Andrew Lansley. Other groups were able to enter a Natwest bank in Brixton and a branch of RBS in Islington and stage protests inside. "The NHS did not cause the financial crisis – the banks did and are continuing to make billions in profits. And yet it is the NHS which is being cut," said Candy Udwin of the Camden Keep Our NHS Public campaign, which took part in north London.

"Here in Camden there are hundreds of jobs under threat and that is why protests like this are being strongly supported."

Activists said they had occupied a number of banks in Brighton while actions also took place in Plymouth, Oxford, Leeds Liverpool, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Ipswich, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. Protesters outside a branch of HSBC in Newcastle were joined by the musician and activist Billy Bragg, who addressed them by megaphone. Other high-profile supporters included the comedian Josie Long who protested at Homerton hospital in Hackney, east London. As well as banks, UK Uncut activists returned to branches of companies they had targetted in the past, including a branch of Vodafone in London and a Topshop in Cardiff. The only reports of arrests were in Manchester, where nine protestors who entered a branch of Santander in Market street were arrested.

"The protest was entirely peaceful and yet the police felt that they needed to do this. The public reaction to the police making the arrests was overwhelmingly negative" 

said David Hoyle, a UK Uncut activist who was outside the bank. Sarah Richardson, a social worker who took part in protests in Newcastle, said:

"This coalition government is breaking its election promises to protect the NHS – 50,000 staff are set to lose their jobs and vital services are being cut. Today we've shown that there are alternative to the cuts – the government could cut the massive subsidies to the banks that caused the crisis and use this to protect vital services."

In Oxford, Helen McCarthy said:

"I took part in today's protest because I wanted to show that I will not be deterred by the mass arrests that outrageously took place on the TUC march at Fortnum and Mason. It was simply an example of political policing to deter protesters from taking action against these brutal cuts. Instead of making us weaker we are just growing bigger and stronger."

UK Uncut said that as many as 40 banks across the country were closed, sometimes with activists inside, adding that the reaction from bank staff had been good-natured. The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) had encouraged members to attend. Dubbed "the emergency operation", the day of protests is the first big action organised by UK Uncut since the arrests of 145 protesters during a sit-in at Fortnum and Mason in London on 26 March, when more than 250,000 people who took to the streets to protest against government spending cuts. UK Uncut has staged a series of campaigns against tax avoidance and public spending reductions since it was formed in October. A Barclays spokesman said:

We are aware of the protests and our priority is the safety of our customers and colleagues and to ensure that the branches can continue to operate wherever possible."

A NatWest spokesman added:

"We are aware of the protests and our priority is to minimise disruption to customers."

The Government denied the NHS budget was being cut and said it had in fact been protected from the spending cuts "needed to deal with the deficit."

"This government believes passionately in the NHS and is investing an extra £11.5 billion over the next four years, a sign of the commitment to protecting it for the future, so there is no excuse to cut back on services that patients need,"said a Department of Health spokesman.

"The plans to modernise the NHS will help to ensure that bureaucracy is cut and resources are reinvested into improving the quality of care for patients. Every penny saved from efficiencies, including savings of £1.7bn a year by 2014-15, will be reinvested into frontline services to improve quality for patients."