Luton crowds join national rally to say Enough is Enough and demand action over cost of living crisis

Luton crowds turned out to say Enough is Enough on Saturday, as part of a national campaign over the cost of living crisis.

The rally was held as part of a National Day of Action in solidarity with striking workers and to demand action on the cost of living crisis.

The rally, called at two day’s notice, was attended by around 150 people. Speakers included firefighters, posties, teachers, small business owners and faith leaders.

Local organiser Hannah Weller said: “It was a well attended event with a diverse cross section/range of speakers.

"We had a 15-year-old student who had written a spoken word poem. Aisha’s spoken word was particularly inspiring as it shows we cannot underestimate the effect these devastating cuts and cost of living conditions are having on our youth. They are angry and are growing up in a world that is trashing their future.

"The crowd only got bigger and it was a real feeling of solidarity and that change is needed. Jamie Newellfrom the Fire Brigades Union spoke about the state of the fire brigade’s pay and people mentioned how shocked they were to learn how poorly they were paid.

"The sense of community was only strengthened when Chaiiwala came out to bring chai to people attending the rally. Parents brought their children with them and some made signs too in solidarity with our NHS.”

The Enough is Enough campaign had a foodbank collection point at the rally.

Hannah said: “In a time where people feel helpless, attendees still managed to bring a tin or two and we collected two boxes of donations which was dropped off to a Luton Foodbank collection point. The response was overwhelmingly positive to our speakers and there was a real sense of community spirit.”

The fast growing national campaign, Enough is Enough, was launched to fight the cost of living crisis, founded by trade unions and community organisations. At its Luton day of action, the campaign called on the public to show solidarity with workers out on strike.

Hannah said: “Sobering speeches from our speakers included Emma who spoke about the reality of trying to work two jobs when you’re not sure when your shift will finish, through to Dave Mingay of NEU speaking about school children getting one meal a day - their free school meals.”

The campaign which launched just weeks ago has already registered 700,000 supporters and seen thousands of people attending rallies across the UK. Protests on Saturday took place across over 50 towns and cities in the UK.

Nationwide there is a threat of major strikes from criminal barristers, nurses, junior doctors and teachers, to the postal workers and rail workers who are already carrying out strike action, as the unions and their members say workers need a real cost of living pay rise to cope with rising inflation and prices.

The campaign’s five demands include a real pay rise, to slash energy bills, an end to food poverty, decent homes for all and to tax the rich. Find out more here at wesayenough.co.uk