Trade unions, health and housing organizations, and peace groups across Britain are preparing for a major national demonstration against the Labour government’s austerity measures. On Saturday, June 7, these groups will march through London to demand increased funding for public services, fair taxation of wealth, and an end to Keir Starmer’s attacks on fundamental social rights.
Since taking office in 2024, Starmer’s cabinet has announced several policies that threaten people’s livelihoods, including cuts to winter fuel support for the elderly, the continuation of the two-child benefit cap, and reductions in support payments for people with disabilities. Simultaneously, the government has positioned itself as a prominent advocate of Europe’s armament agenda, announcing increased military spending with the goal of transforming the country into a “battle-ready, armor-clad nation.”
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As part of this agenda, Starmer has floated exaggerated national security threats and suggested – misleadingly – that militarization would benefit most. “His call for everyone to be part of the defense of the country is an attempt to label anyone who opposes his obscene militarism and austerity as unpatriotic,” stated the People’s Assembly, one of the demonstration’s organizers.
Keir Starmer recently reaffirmed plans to raise so-called defense spending to 3% of GDP, promising billions of pounds for warplanes, missile systems, and nuclear weapons. This includes the construction of 12 new nuclear submarines and a £15 billion (approximately USD 20 billion) allocation for nuclear warheads. “This government seems intent on worsening the crises that we face. Increasing nuclear threats does not make us safer and drives climate chaos,” said Sophie Bolt of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. “It channels hundreds of billions of public funds into arms companies and their shareholders’ pockets, whilst populations living in places like Barrow that make these nuclear weapons continue to live in poverty and deprivation.”
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Meanwhile, essential services such as the National Health Service (NHS), education, and the social security system face cuts. The proposed reduction in disability benefits alone could push around 250,000 people into poverty, including tens of thousands of children. “No UK citizen has been killed by the imaginary enemy Starmer is arming against, yet up to 400,000 have been killed by over a decade of austerity and many thousands more will die if Starmer goes through with the cuts to disability benefits,” the People’s Assembly noted.
Opposition to Labour’s austerity program is growing rapidly. Ahead of talks on disability benefits reform later this month, nearly 60% of Labour activists have said the plan should be scrapped, and dozens of MPs have expressed varying degrees of “concern.”
Saturday’s demonstration is expected to increase that pressure, potentially forcing the government to reconsider its plans. As a result of earlier mobilizations, the cabinet recently announced it would tone down its decision to cut winter fuel assistance. While this concession falls short of addressing the full range of threats posed by austerity, it demonstrates that public pressure is having an impact. “Starmer is waging war; he is waging a class war against the ordinary people of this country,” the People’s Assembly said. “But we will stop him!”
