Huge protests taking place in Manchester and UK this weekend over soaring cost of living

Thousands of people are set to take to the streets across the UK this weekend in protest of the soaring cost of living.

Enough is Enough – a campaign group calling for the government to take action against the ongoing cost of living crisis – has so far organised rallies in fifty different towns and cities across the country for this Saturday (October 1st).

Manchester is one of the cities involved in the mass protests, with a rally due to begin at 12pm at Piccadilly Gardens. 

Other locations also staging protests include Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Ellesmere Port, Preston and Sheffield. 

The campaign wrote on its official Instagram account: “It’s time to say #EnoughlsEnough.

“No to handouts for the rich and hardship for the rest. This Saturday, October 1st, we’ll be protesting in 50 cities and towns across Britain.

“Main protests on listed graphic but dozens more on the website. Join the campaign today to find out about your local event.”

Enough Is Enough was established by trade union and community organisation leaders over the summer in a bid to ‘push back against the misery forced on millions by rising bills, low wages, food poverty, shoddy housing and a society run only for a wealthy elite’. 

The campaign has five demands:

• A real pay rise.
• Slash energy bills.
• End food poverty.
• Decent homes for all.
• Tax the rich.

Back in August, Mayor Andy Burnham threw his support behind the movement, with him attending a protest in Manchester on August 30th.

Speaking to Channel 4 news outside of Manchester Cathedral ahead of the rally, Burnham said: “I go round this city all the time. People are scared. They don’t know how they’re going to get through.

“People’s resilience is already low. Their mental health is low. How are people going to get through?”

Visit the Enough Is Enough website for more information on the movement and any protests happening near you.