Yorkshire police in action to control city marchers

Demonstrators waved banners and blew whistles and horns as they moved through the city centre, chanting anti-Tory messages and calling for the first general strike in Britain since 1926.

They were supervised by ranks of police officers trained to deal with public disorder, drawn from Greater Manchester Police and neighbouring forces including West Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire.

The protest, organised by the Trades Union Congress, was billed as a march and rally for “The Alternative – jobs, growth, justice” in opposition to Ministers’ cuts to public services and pensions.

Large numbers of public sector workers, including firefighters and teachers, took part in the demonstration along with a range of left-wing activists.

About 200 members of the anti-cuts group Occupy broke away from the march and announced they would stage a sit-in protest in Albert Square, in front of Manchester Town Hall.

The group dwindled to only 50 after a short while, but some of those involved had their faces covered. Police said no arrests had been made.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, told the marchers to take inspiration from the 70,000 student protesters who demonstrated against university top-up fees in London last year.

“We need a coalition of resistance,” he said, “of trade unions, community groups, church organisations, and students and of our senior citizens, an amazing coalition of resistance to engage in every form of resistance, including co-ordinated industrial action.

“If you want to call it a general strike then so be it.”

Mark Serwotka, leader of the PCS union, said: “We are now on the edge of the biggest strike in Britain in 80 years.”

He added that every village, town and city would see picket lines on November 30 when a mass strike has been called by several unions across the UK.