May Day March 2017: John McDonnell to join thousands of anti-austerity protesters in Trafalgar Square

Demo: A previous anti-austerity march in London
PA
Mark Chandler1 May 2017

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell is set to address crowds of anti-austerity campaigners when a May Day march winds its way through the central London.

Large crowds of demonstrators will gather at Clerkenwell Green from midday before setting off towards Trafalgar Square an hour later.

Crowds, marking International Workers’ Day, will march down Clerkenwell Road, Theobald's Road and Aldwych on their way to a rally in the central London square.

Police warned affected roads would be closed and then reopened once the parade moved on.

Buses serving Trafalgar Square, Holborn and Farringdon will also be diverted or could stop short of their destinations due to the event, which is due to end at 5pm.

Mr McDonnell will be one of the lead speakers at the demonstration this year, which organisers say attracted 14,000 people back in 2016.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka will also speak alongside representatives from the RMT union who will discuss the ongoing dispute with Southern Rail.

In a statement on their website, organisers said: “May Day is the day to bring together all the important struggles going on over NHS, attacks on the disabled, on education, housing, against the anti-union laws, against racism, against threats to peace, against Government support for repressive regimes, the whole austerity agenda, attacks on civil liberties, the environment, the arts and so many other areas of our lives.

“They are all linked in the economic system dominated by multinationals leading to more money for the super rich and attacks on the lives of ordinary people, young and old, of all backgrounds.

“We need to bring them all together in one great fight.”

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