CAROLINE Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with 50,000 protesters (1) at the June 21st People’s Assembly anti-austerity protest. Lucas and hundreds of Green Party members joined Russell Brand, Owen Jones, Mark Steel and others in calling on the government to end its policies of austerity.
Caroline Lucas MP told the crowds:
“We have a message for the government. It wasn't the poor who caused the economic crisis. It wasn't people on Jobseeker's Allowance who brought down the banks. It wasn't people with disabilities who wasted billions speculating on risky financial markets. So that's why we're here to say: stop punishing the poor."
Watch Lucas’ speech here.
Romayne Phoenix, the Green Party’s Welfare Spokesperson, member of Lewisham Green Party and Co-Chair of the People’s Assembly, said:
“It’s galling to see how the government continues to march ahead with its austerity measures, flagrantly dismissing the destructive affects they are having on our society. Inequality is on the rise (2). The number of food-bank meals needed to feed hungry families across the UK has doubled in the past year (3). Britain needs an alternative – sheer human decency demands it.”
The march against the coalition’s austerity measures marked the one-year anniversary of the formation of the People's Assembly Against Austerity.