ANTI-AUSTERITY campaigners called for “civil disobedience” as they vowed to step up the fight to defend the NHS and education at a conference in Derby on Saturday.

The conference hosted by Derbyshire People’s Assembly heard from national and local speakers about government attacks on public services.

Spokesman for NHS SOS Derby Marcus James gave details of plans to axe more than 500 hospital beds and a Derby NUT representative explained how the academy programme had led to local schools being taken into special measures for poor performance.