UK: Famous celebs line up against Tory-led austerity programme

Singer Charlotte Church, Diane Abbott MP and trade unionist Len McCluskey were among several British high-profile figures to join the mass anti-austerity demonstration in central London, Saturday, called to decry the Conservative Party's plans for large cuts to public spending. The national celebrities were flanked by thousands of protesters holding anti-austerity banners and placards, many defending the National Health Service (NHS) and calling for cuts to the UK Trident nuclear weapons programme. Some demonstrators dressed up as Tory cabinet members, a crab bearing David Cameron's face among them, as well as letting off multi-coloured flares. The protesters oppose the Tory's austerity policies that are expected to be implemented within the next five years. Among them are an estimated £30 billion (€41 billion; $46 billion) worth of cuts to public spending, an estimated £12 billion (€16.5 billion, $18.8 billion) in unspecified welfare cuts and the abolition of housing benefit for under-21s on Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA).