‘Banks Got Bailed Out! We Got Sold Out!’

Hundreds of people gathered outside Manchester Mental Heath & Social Care Trust HQ (Saturday,11-06-2011)  to stand  along sides of the ordinary ‘Manchester Joe’ spending his precious Saturday afternoon standing outsides the HQ protesting against these savage  cuts, which are beginning to have  ill effects upon many ordinary family members throughout the country .

Although the march was very serious the organisers had used comedy to get the message across knowing that every Mancunian love’s getting a laugh on and ‘receives on message’ when best in laugh mode. Local singers from Open Voices started the March with a wonderful New Zealand Māori sounding soothing melody to send the ‘Defenders of the NHS’ off on the march. With the fresh and warm Manchester rain coming down upon the lush green laid grass lawn of MMH&SCT HQ in the once posh Chorlton,  with the choir singing one could easily imagine being in Wellington, New Zealand. Ben Jackson a branch Secretary for the NHS union ‘Unison’ and representing health workers spoke against the cuts. Paul Reed vice Chair of the patents organisation Manchester User’s Network, invited to speak at the beginning of the March. He spoke saying, “The Manchester cuts were and would cost lives, they were immoral in principle”, heinous atrocious and very cruel in his experience who ever had ordered them. Nevertheless, the day remembered for the comments of pensioner Bartley Wilcock   sounding like a Wise Old MAORI WARRIOR bringing FORTH THE echo of the mantra of the millaniom warning of the dangers of further privatisation to the NHS. “I remember when there was no NHS and my dad had to pay the doctor,” he said. The rain had stopped but soon the clouds were blackening and a massive storm seemed imminent.

By this time, the day needed some sunshine and it arrived in form of Costas, who had obviously rushed to be at the start with a message that was brought in solidarity from Greece and Spain to the Chorlton Against the Cuts rally. ‘We are here as people from Greece and from Spain who are living in Manchester. We are here in Solidarity! We want to join you. We want to help you in the fight to defend the health care, to defend our welfare system. It is a fight which we must all keep together: in every neighbourhood, from every city, in every country.’ It brought cheers and clapping from the crowds thankful of their brothers and sisters support coming from all over the world. It had turned the day in to a defining moment, one that had seen an out spooling of support from every quarter of the City. Many stepping forth to give their support to each- and – everyone, who was standing against the cuts and changes to their NHS services. Many now see a floundering of National Health Service founding principles;   “that it meet the needs of everyone that it be free at the point of delivery that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay”. When one looks at the charges being, levied at those who suffer from an addiction to alcohol and who wish to enter in to a detoxification programme using the NHS. Unfortunately, people have been asked for a payment for these once NHS services.

At Chorlton’s famous bankers corner, where every corner of the junction has a bank operating. The clear sound of the Bank doors closing as the march came closer to them was heard over the chants of ‘Banks Got Bailed Out! We Got Sold Out!’ Residents came out their houses to applaud and even leaving their homes to join the march such was the feelings. A Police officer spoke of how they truly believe that the higher the rank the madder their ideas seem to get, certainly taking the new Police HQ due to open at Newton Heath as a example, those in charge have made sure it is fitted with a state of the art canteen. There are no canteens available for ordinarily street cops or civilian Police workers. It was only some years ago under GMP former Chief Con Wilmot that a brand new bathroom was  fitted to the 11^th flooring offices of Greater Manchester Police, Chester House, GMP  HQ, costing not £300.000 as the ‘on the march officer’, had suggested  but, £350.000 as MUN have since researched into  the case and found the true amount spent on the Chief Constables personnel bathroom with gold taps to boot?

  anti cuts protest, austerity, benefits welfare, coalition cuts, Ed Milliband, Greater Manchester Police, Keep Our NHS Public (KONP), national strike, NHS, Police Commissinor Tony Lloyd, public sector pensions, Sir Peter Fahy, trade union demonstration, TUC