Anti-austerity protests hit Britain
Westminster was at the centre of a tornado of anti-austerity protest on November 5 that began in the early hours and tore across Britain as the day went on, The Morning Star said the next day.
The day of action co-ordinated by the People's Assembly movement swept small-scale guerilla activism through northern and southern England.
In Wales, Cardiff activists played a cat-and-mouse game with police to hang an effigy of David Cameron from the city's castle walls as part of a string of actions. “No more pennies for this guy,” read the sign around his neck.
Other targets ranged from job centres and offices of the hated Atos capability assessment firm to payday lenders and NHS privateers.
But all had one aim ― to say “No” to austerity and “Yes” to a people-first Britain.
General strike shuts down Greece
Services across Greece shut down as trade unions held a 24-hour general strike on November 6 to protest against further austerity measures, The Morning Star said that day.
The strike disrupted public transport, halted ferry and train services, shut down courts and state schools, and left hospitals and the ambulance service functioning with emergency staff.
Dozens of flights were cancelled or rescheduled as air traffic controllers walked off the job for three hours from noon in support of the action.
The strike coincided with talks between the conservative government and debt inspectors from the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission (the “troika”) over fresh austerity measures to plug a budget gap next year.
Successive governments have passed repeated rounds of deep spending cuts and tax rises to secure 240 billion euros ($340) in loans to bail out the banking sector.