Caroline Lucas MP supports day of protest against government's austerity programme

10 May 2012

Up to 400,000 workers are expected to take action over the planned reforms to public sector pensions and wider  spending cuts, with an estimated 20,000 off duty police officers due to march in London.

Caroline Lucas MP, who is speaking at a union rally in Brighton at midday, said: "As Vice-President of the Public and Commercial Services group in Parliament, I completely support today's strike action.

"This Government's drive to slash jobs, slash pay, and now slash pensions as well is both socially devastating and economically illiterate.

"The best way to tackle the deficit is to invest in jobs, not to destroy them - and the fairest way to do it is to make those responsible for the financial crisis pay the highest price.

"It cannot be right to demand that ordinary workers up and down the country pay more, work longer, and get less in their pensions.

"The cynical changes to indexation from RPI to CPI inflation means pensions fall by up to 20%.

"Equally worrying, this indexation change will also apply to a number of important benefits, including Disability Living Allowance and Incapacity Benefit.

"That's why it's so important that civil servants, lecturers and other public sector workers come together today to defend each other, demand real negotiation with Government, and to demand no more cuts."

ENDS

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