FIVE coffins were carried through the streets of Manchester and delivered to the venue of the Tory Party conference today.
Each symbolised an aspect of the Tory misrule that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths since 2010, including NHS cuts, Grenfell, cruelty to refugees and migrants, abandonment of disabled people — and 300,000 victims of austerity.
The mock funeral was a forerunner to the national protest tomorrow when thousands of protesters are expected to march and rally in Manchester where the Conservative Party’s annual conference takes place.
The funeral procession, organised by the People’s Assembly, included an undertaker, a horse and carriage, the five coffins, pall bearers and mourners.
The cortege set off from All Saints Park and the coffins were delivered to the delegates’ entrance of the Tory conference site, where wreaths were laid.
The grim list of avoidable deaths also included thousands of elderly people who died in care homes after patients with the virus were transferred there from hospital and elderly people who died from the winter cold amid fuel price rises.
Manchester People’s Assembly joint secretary Steph Pike told the Star: “We were bringing attention to the thousands of people who have died as a result of Tory rule and austerity.
“It was a message to the Tories in Manchester that we will not stand for this any more.
“We will fight on the streets until they are out of power.”
A National People’s Assembly statement said: “On the eve of the Tory Party Conference in Manchester we remember Grenfell, we remember the 300,000 killed by austerity, the refugees drowned in our seas as a result of hostile immigration policies, the patients dying because our NHS is underfunded and undervalued, the preventable Covid deaths while the Tories danced on their graves, the disabled people abandoned and impoverished by a hostile government.
“We mourn the destruction of our public services and the infrastructure we rely on and the attacks on our right to strike and our right to protest.
“We can no longer afford a Tory government.”
A big turnout is expected at Sunday’s march and rally, which will dovetail with strike action from rail union Aslef.
Ms Pike said: “Striking workers will lead the march, and we are supporting Aslef pickets on Saturday at Piccadilly Approach.”
The march is set to include blocs of marchers from Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Keep our NHS Public, and unions including the Public and Commercial Services union.
A Stop the War statement said: “The British government is spending over £50 billion annually on defence for the first time in history. That is nearly £12bn of cash investment a year more than 2019.
“Contrast that with the miserly funding increases for our public services or below-inflation pay rises offered to our teachers and nurses.
“If we want true security it should start with decent housing, healthcare and education spending — not weapons of mass destruction. That will be our message on the Wages Not War bloc this Sunday.”
The National People’s Assembly statement added: “Anyone who cares about falling living standards, rising poverty, the trashing of public services and this authoritarian government’s role in promoting racism and sexism should join the protests outside the Tory Party conference.”
The march assembles at 12pm, Oxford Rd, next to Whitworth Park, M14 4PW.
