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In a peaceful demonstration, with total support from the police accompanying the March, families, individuals, trade unionists, political activists, actors, police representatives, civil servants, pubic sector workers, private sector workers, prison officers, NHS workers; and just about anyone else you can think of; were represented at the March. Taking over 4 and one half hours to march from the Embankment adjacent to the Houses of Parliament to the rally in Hyde Park; London has never seen a demonstration as big as this since 2003. As the half million strong march left the embankment for the rally in Hyde Park at 12.45 pm, mobile phones, Twitter and Face Book became alive with people commenting on their experiences throughout the event. At 4.10 pm, the TUC website was reporting that the back of the march was only then finally leaving the Embankment! By the time the rally finished at 4.40 the back of the march had only just made it to Trafalgar Square! Thousands missed the rally and speeches but none the less, had a great day as they messaged friends and anyone prepared to listen about the day the British people woke up to the reality of Cameron's plans for the country.
"Far more than I expected are here - it's massive!. I havn't seen any trouble, loads of families, bands, fancy dress. Police I have spoken to were superb and friendly, their pensions are knackered as well!" He added: "The message that the cuts will devistate health and safety in this country and put more people at increased risk of injury and misery as a result and even deaths, has not been lost today. Every issue is seen on plackards and t-shirts being worn by groups of people here today." Tracy Buckley Secretary of the Co-ord stopping to send Unionsafety several pictures from her mobile phone including the one below said:
Chris Ingram editor of Unionsafety commented: "Being unable to attend on the day was a frustration, but I was able to monitor events as they happened via the texts from co-ord colleagues and other union members throughout the day. I received over 300 texts!! In addition Facebook and Twitter delivered eye witness accounts of a fantastic peaceful day of protest." The figures of how many were in attendance was estimated by the TUC as their representative attended the police control room looking at CCTV. The figure of 500,000 was accepted by the police as being as accurate as possible and that is why the police never issued their own figures. As for the media's estimates and reports? At the rally itself, Brendan Barber TUC leader said: "It's fantastic to see so many people here today. Thousands here in Hyde Park. Thousands still on the march. And tens of thousands more not even set off yet from the Embankment. Together we are sending a clear message to the government: that we are strong and united, that we will fight their savage cuts and that we will not let them destroy people's services, people's jobs and people's lives. Young and old, black and white, men and women we have come from every walk of life and every part of Britain. Trade unionists, members of voluntary groups and local community organisations, people terrified of losing their jobs and what that means for their families, people who see the axe looming over absolutely vital services on which they rely, the home helps for the elderly, the Sure Start Centres for children, the refuges for the victims of violent domestic abuse. We've come together not just to oppose the cuts, but to call for a new approach to rebuilding our economy rooted in social justice, in place of this tide of economic destruction. Because that's what we've got, as the coalition government has turned in to a demolition government. No part of our public realm is to be protected. And don't believe it when they say that the NHS is safe in their hands.
Today let us say to him - we will not let you destroy what has taken generations to build. The NHS stands for something different - care, compassion, social solidarity - and let us pledge today to do everything in our power to fight to defend it. Let's be clear - our NHS is not for sale. And while the Government is planning this destruction on such a massive scale, down the road in the City they're paying themselves £7 billion in bonuses - straight back to business as usual. Yet you know ministers have the nerve to tell us we are all in this together. With that cynical lie they are taking us for fools - but the British people will not be fooled.
The government claim there is no alternative. But there is. Let's keep people in work and get our economy growing. Let's get tax revenues flowing and tackle the tax cheats. And let's have a Robin Hood Tax on the banks, so they pay us back for the mess they caused. So today let our message go out loud and clear. That now is the time for change. That we are not going to go away. That this is just the beginning of our campaign - and we will fight the government's brutal cuts in our workplaces and our communities. Today we are speaking for the people of Britain. David Cameron, if you want to meet the Big Society, we're here in Hyde Park. It's time you started listening." Brendan then introduced to the massive rally, a PCS member Richard Evans working for HMRC who walked from Cardiff to London to attend the march. He was greeted with a tremendous roar of apporoval from the crowd and was described as a hero by his Union. The quarter of a million people who had so far entered the park then heard from Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party who made it clear that he and the party are behind the mass demonstration against the tory cuts.
He added a message to the tory leader: “David Cameron: you wanted to create the big society – this IS the big society... the big society united against what your government is doing to our country. We stand today not as the minority, but as the voice of the mainstream majority.” TV and the media interviewed many of the marchers and the comments published showed that people came from all walks of life and were not simply trade unionists with vested interestes as many of the BBC TV commentators claimed. This is just one snippet of quotes that were published in the Sunday Mirror this week: Mild-mannered inland revenue worker Richard Evans, 46, WALKED 166 miles from Cardiff to join the march after setting off last Saturday. Yesterday the Public and Commercial Services union rep said the walk was worth every arduous step. “With this number of people, the Government have to take notice,” he said. Keith Williamson, 55, a teacher at a college in Huddersfield, said: “The Government says it’s making no cuts to education but it’s a lie. “We’re at risk of losing lots of students because they will all lose their Education Maintenance Allowance.” Alan Dowling, 40, works for the UK Border Agency in Sheffield and left home at 4.40am. “The other day the immigration minister was on TV saying we need to do more,” he said. “How are we going to do more enforcement when we are cutting enforcement officers?” Michael Taylor, 43, a self employed joiner, came down from Manchester with his daughter Polly, 17. He said: “I’ve never been on a march before but sometimes you have to stand up and have your say. “The building trade is collapsing because no one’s spending any money. How does cutting millions of pounds get the economy going? It doesn’t make sense.”
Holding aloft her homemade “I Love Books” banner, Maddy said: “Every Friday my dad takes me to the library to change my books and get a DVD but we won’t be able to do it if it shuts, will we?” A large contingent of protesters, including CWU members made sure that the government plans to privatise the Royal Mail was a prominent part of the march with powerful messages carried on hundreds of placards. Throughout the day texts flowed in reflecting the superb atmoshere of fun and solidarity behind the one key message from the British people and the Trade union movement: There IS an alternative. As to be expected, television, radio and newspaper media tried to link by implication, the violence by a small group of anarchists to the TUC March For The Alternative and peaceful demonstrations by other anti-cut organisations such as UK Uncut which they see as a major threat to the government's untruths in arguing its case for cuts whilst at the same time driving the country into total privatisation.
The BBC coverage in particular focused solely on saturday afternoon and evening news programmes on the violence which was inevitable as anger over the cuts amongst the public grows. Had it not been for a small group of violent activists many believe that very little of the days March and Rally by a half million people would have appeared in the media! Indeed, nowhere in the media was the TUC's alternative approach to major fast and deep cuts to front line public services discussed or presented to the public over the weekend. You can find further information and reports and videos of the days events written by those attending on both Face Book and Twitter and also on the websites of the trade Unions: TUC 26th March website CWU North West website Face Book: UKuncut and False Economy Twitter: 26th March TUC A report from a UKuncut supporter of what actually happened at Fortnam and Mason’s on Saturday and his subsequent arrest can be read here Further pics of the CWU members attending the march and rally can be viewed here Source: Unionsafety / CWU / BBC / Sunday Mirror / Daily Telegraph / The Guardian / The Mail /PCS / TUC / Hilda Plamer / Alan Foster
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Derek Maylor, chair of the NW BTU Health and Safety Co-ord attended the March along with hundreds of other CWU members. Texting from the march and as he held on tightly to his CWU Branch banner, Derek told Unionsafety:
"It's simply amazing to see so many trade unions here today, along with people of all ages and walks of life. It shows that the public are not fooled for one moment by what this Tory led coalition government are doing." 
With over 50,000 job cuts already in the pipeline - nurses, doctors, physios, midwives - in the name of so-called efficiency savings of £20 billion, the NHS, as we know it, is already in intensive care. And with David Cameron talking about selling it off to 'any willing provider' out to make a profit the NHS is facing the gravest threat in its history.
Let's be brutally clear about these cuts. They're going to cost jobs on a huge scale - adding to the misery of the two and a half million people already on the dole. They're going to hammer crucial services that bind our communities together. And they're going to hit the poorest and the most vulnerable hardest. And anyone who tells you different is a bare-faced liar. 
“The Tories said I shouldn’t come to speak here today but I am proud to stand with you. People are here from all walks of life and different backgrounds, speaking for mainstream Britain. Our struggle is to fight to preserve, protect and defend the best of the services we cherish because they represent the best of the country we love.”
Not far behind him were Gurkha soldiers, marching alongside campaigners trying to protect legal-aid payments. Ragprasad Purja, 44, a Gurkha from Nepal who lives in South London, said politely but firmly: “The Gurkhas have fought for this country for 200 years. The cuts to legal aid and benefits will affect many of us. We want to stop them.”
From Nick Clegg’s own constituency of Sheffield Hallam came eight-year-old Maddy Rouse and her mother Lizzie, 39, who works for the Law Society. They were protesting at Lib-Dem-run Sheffield City Council’s £1million cuts to library services.
Sky news and BBC news both showed a split screen during the rally at Hyde Park - one with Ed Miliband, Labour leader giving his speech to the rally in Hyde Park, and the other with images of the violence in other parts of London. The attempt was to link the TUC Rally with that of the violent minority who had nothing to do with the half a million strong March For The Alternative. Indeed, today's issue of the Telegraph provides headlines which are a total fabrication along with the associated report which claims 'splinter groups' from the March attacked police and damaged property. In fact these were a small group of anarchists, representing no one!