Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday to protest government spending cuts and welfare reforms, voicing outrage over rising military budgets amid deepening social inequality.
The demonstration—organized by the People’s Assembly—began at Portland Place and made its way to Whitehall, with crowds chanting and holding placards reading “Tax the Rich,” “Nurses Not Nukes,” and “Welfare Not Warfare.”
Trade unionists, campaigners, and activists from across the UK joined the protest under the slogan “No to Austerity 2.0,” calling on the Labour government to abandon austerity policies and invest in public services instead of warfare.
Campaigners condemned Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s economic agenda, accusing his cabinet of hiding behind so-called fiscal rules while enacting cuts that deepen poverty, erode social protections, and widen inequality.
“Scrapping winter fuel payments, keeping the Tory two-child benefit cap, cutting disability support, and slashing foreign aid—while boosting defense spending—are not ‘tough choices,’ they are political choices,” a spokesperson for the People’s Assembly said.
“The real alternative is taxing the rich to fund the NHS, education, and local communities.”
The protest comes amid growing concern over the government’s creeping militarization, as it pledged to ramp up so-called defense spending to 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The latest strategic defense review outlines billions in new investments for warplanes, missile systems, and an expanded nuclear submarine fleet.
Under the new plan, the UK will build up to 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines by the late 2030s—nearly doubling its current fleet—despite those submarines carrying only conventional weapons.
