Miliband: UK on path back to 1980s

Labour leader says coalition policies driving wedge between rich and the poor, public and private sectors and north and south The government is putting Britain on a path back to the 1980s by adopting the “politics of division”, the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has said. Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s anti-cuts march in London – expected to be the biggest national demonstration since the 2003 march against the Iraq war – Miliband said the coalition’s policies were driving a wedge between the rich and the poor, the public and private sectors and the north and the south. He described the London demonstration as the “march of the mainstream”, arguing that the cuts were uniting everyone from the small businessman to the public sector workers to families affected by the government’s policies . “I grew up in the 1980s. Now, I thought some of the music of the 1980s was quite good. But I thought the politics of the 1980s were rotten,” he said in Nottingham. “I thought they were rotten because they divided our country, and I fear we are seeing our country divided again. I fear that this government is practising the politics of division. “They’re saying to the bankers, well you can have a tax cut this year and you can carry on getting your bonuses – but they’re saying to everybody else, you’re going to have to pay the price of the economic crisis that the bankers caused. “They’re saying people in the public sector and people in the private sector should somehow be at odds. They’re saying people on benefits should be resented by those in work. They’re saying we should set north against south. That is the politics of division, and we can’t go back to that.” Miliband will address a rally in Hyde Park at the end of the three-mile march from Embankment tomorrow in what will be one of his most high-profile speeches to date. The TUC organisers said they were preparing for as many as 200,000 people to join the march. The TUC has worked closely with police to try and ensure the event goes smoothly, but police say they were expecting a “small but significant” minority of people who could cause trouble . Greg Hands, the Conservative MP for Chealsea and Fulham, said: “This march is being organised by the TUC with Ed Miliband as the star speaker. “Having decided to bring thousands of their supporters onto the streets, [they] have a duty to ensure that their march does not become a focus for disorder and law-breaking. “Ed Miliband should use his influence with the unions to ensure that the march … is not taken over by extremist groups. There must be no repeat of the violence we witnessed at several student marches last year.” Nigel Stanley, the TUC head of campaigns, said: “Tomorrow will see thousands of good-natured protesters gathering to say no to deep, rapid and unfair spending cuts. “Months of planning, close working with the police and well over a thousand trained stewards will ensure that this is family-friendly event – a powerful voice, but peacefully expressed.” Ed Miliband Labour Liberal-Conservative coalition Economic policy Trade unions guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.