British government cuts spending, people protest loudly

On October 20, tens of thousands of people marched through London and other British cities to protest government spending cuts.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) - the organization leading the protest - said about 100,000 people participated in the 4.8km long march on October 20. However, this number has not been confirmed by the police.

Protesters carried slogans such as "No cuts" to condemn the austerity measures introduced by the ruling Conservative Party coalition of British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Liberal Democrats.

Speaking to a crowd gathered in Hyde Park, Ed Miliband - the leader of the opposition Labour Party - attacked Prime Minister Cameron for "cutting too deep and too fast". "He is sticking to an economic plan that is not working," Miliband said.

In addition to the capital London, two other protests took place simultaneously in the Scottish city of Glasgow and Belfast in Northern Ireland on October 20.

Britain emerged from the economic crisis in late 2009 but fell back into recession in late 2011, AFP reported.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said the budget cuts are necessary to reduce the country's huge budget deficit. Since taking office in 2010, his government has slashed budgets by a fifth across almost every department. However, the prime minister has been criticised for other harsh fiscal policies, such as tripling university tuition fees and virtually freezing public sector pay.

Mr Cameron's Conservative Party is also seen as the "party of the rich" and has almost no connection with middle-class voters.

In addition to opposing the spending cuts, protesters on October 20 also gathered outside major UK-based companies such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Topshop and Vodafone near the shopping center on Oxford Street. These companies are accused of tax evasion, especially Starbucks has paid only nearly 13.8 million USD in taxes during its 14 years of operation here.

British police said they arrested two of the protesters outside the store.

According to Tuoi Tre - DT