Those were the words of TUC general secretary Brendan Barber to a thronged and colourful rally at Westminster Central Hall today as thousands of people – with UNISON members visibly to the fore in 'Million Voices for Public Services' teeshirts – prepared to lobby their MPs on the eve of the government's comprehensive spending review.
"We are here to stand up for our communities, for the elderly, for the vulnerable as well as for our members and their jobs and pensions," UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis told the rally.
"In UNISON, we are one million women," he added. "Cooks, cleaners, carers, nurses, teaching assistants: our members - the heart of our public services and the backbone of our community; our members - under attack, not because of the economy but because of an ideology that sees public services as a problem.
"Well I am here to say, to the spivs and the speculators, the bankers and the businessmen - you made this mess, you clear it up.
"We will not let the government get away with taking a chainsaw to our services.
"We will speak up. We will form alliances. We will rise to the challenge. We will march in our thousands and we will vote in our millions. Strong, united, fierce in our defence of public services and those who provide them."
The rally heard from a range of speakers from across the community, including civic organisations, religious bodies, actors and Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK, who pointed out that the government’s own figures estimate that there is £70bn of unpaid tax in the economy, though the figure could be as high as £120bn, adding: "Before any cuts are made in spending the government has a duty to collect that tax that's owing to it."
After the rally, thousands of trade unionists and people who need public services lobbied MPs for an alternative to drastic cuts – although all Conservative MPs cancelled their appointments with lobbyers after Prime Minister David Cameron summoned them to a meeting instead.
Last Updated: October 20, 2010
