Thousands take part in UK NHS protest

Thousands of Britons are taking part in a massive protest against the British government™s spending cuts and their impact on jobs and the health service in Manchester.

The protest, which is organized by Britain’s largest unions body the Trades Union Congress (TUC), is underway in Manchester on the opening day of the Conservative party™s annual conference.

The Save Our NHS rally that is planned to end with speeches in the city™s Whitworth Park highlights the devastating effects of the coalition government™s austerity measures including cuts to the National Health Service (NHS).

Demonstrators will be marching to deliver a message to the Tory conference that they want the NHS to be saved from cuts and privatization.

Up to 40,000 people are expected to join the march which will be addressed by union leaders.

TUC General Secretary Frances O™Grady will tell marchers that the country™s NHS œfaces the gravest crisis in its history”.

œToday is about joining together to deliver a clear message to the Conservative Party conference just down the road – our NHS is not for sale, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. We won™t let this government destroy what has taken generations to build,” O™Grady will say.

Earlier in July, a YouGov survey for the campaign group 38 Degrees found that some ninety percent of NHS staff believe Britain™s health service is not safe in the hands of the Tory-led government.

SSM/HE