‘It’s awful actually’: voices from the cost of living protest in London
From midwives to firefighters, thousands of people gathered in central London on Saturday to protest against the government’s response to the cost of living crisis. Some are calling for pay increases, while others say they fear the devastating impact of public services being chronically underfunded. Here, we hear from three people on why they chose to demonstrate on Saturday.
Adesara, 32, says that as a doctor working in Tottenham, the number of patients she sees who are struggling with rising costs has skyrocketed.
“I work in a deprived part of London. Many of my patients are really struggling. They’re struggling with their bills, and I can see people becoming unwell because of the stress they are dealing with,” she says.
“We have single parents saying they can’t afford their food shopping. It’s awful actually. As a doctor, I feel very helpless. We’ve had to hire someone in our practice to help people apply for benefits and refer them to charities, to support people with social problems. In terms of the cost of living crisis, I’m fine personally, but it’s what I see in my practice.
“There’s food banks now being set up in hospitals, and I also see teenagers coming in with conditions related to stress. There are long-term health impacts of being undernourished. That’s why it’s so important that people have a decent wage, that benefits are enough for people to be able to afford food and pay bills. We’re only asking for the basics.”
Lewis, a sixth-form college teacher who has worked with children with special needs throughout his career, was at the protest with around 65 other teachers from the north-east.
“Since Cameron and austerity, teachers have had a real-terms pay cut of £10,000,” he says.
“We now have teaching assistants
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