Large crowds took to the streets of London to protest rising costs

London – Thousands of people demonstrated in central London on Saturday against the rising cost of living in Britain.

Huge crowds have flocked to the British capital to gather to demand the government do more to help people who face bills and other expenses that are rising more quickly than their wages.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticized for being slow to respond to the cost of living crisis. Inflation soared in Britain and across Europe, as the Russian war in Ukraine hampered energy supplies and food Basic food such as wheat. Prices were already rising before the war, as the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic led to strong consumer demand.

The demonstrators carried banners with messages such as “Cut the war, not the luxury.” They booed as they passed 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s residence, according to videos posted on social media.

Ben Robinson, who works for a housing charity in the south London borough of Brixton, said the government did not realize how bad things were for the poor.

“We have residents coming into our offices and choosing between feeding their children, not themselves, their children, paying rent and heating,” he said. His face, you know, is in the fourth largest economy in the world.”

TUC, the umbrella organization of trade unions that organized the protest, said its research indicates that workers have effectively lost nearly £20,000 ($24,450) since 2008 because wages have not kept pace with inflation.

Johnson’s government is under intense pressure to do more to help Britons grappling with rising fuel and food prices and local energy bills. In one example of a family’s financial crisis, a data company said the average cost of filling a typical family car exceeds 100 pounds ($125).