Earlier today, I attended the There is a Better Way march and rally in Edinburgh to protest at public sector cuts imposed by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government. Organised by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) the protest attracted more than 20,000 demonstrators representing trades unionists, churches, voluntary organisations, pensioners and political parties who gathered in front of the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens.
Labour Leader, Iain Gray MSP, who attended the event, said:
"The turnout at this march shows that the people of Scotland do believe there is a better way. The coalition cuts are too deep and too fast, putting 100,000 jobs at risk."
George Samson, of the Dundee Pensioners Forum, said:
"We're here to defend public services. Pensioners depend on these services, and these cuts that are forthcoming are going to affect us adversely."
Before the march, STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said:
"We launched this campaign to dispel the myth that there is no economic alternative to these cuts. There is an alternative. Get people back to work, get the economy growing again, and the public finances will largely take care of themselves. We also launched this campaign to expose the lie that it is those with the broadest shoulders that will bear the brunt of the cuts."
