London march to save the arts and libraries

Hundreds of people will march from the British Library to Parliament Square on Saturday 3 November to call for an end to the cuts hitting the arts and libraries across the country.

Members of UNISON, along with those from PCS and UNITE, will march past cultural landmarks in the capital in support of libraries and museums.

The march will end with a rally in Parliament Square featuring speeches from library workers and authors. These include Frank Cottrell Boyce, writer of the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, Goodbye Christopher Robin and The Unforgotten Coat.

Since 2010 over 500 libraries have been closed across England, Scotland and Wales.

With the chancellor this week claiming austerity is coming to an end, unions are demanding the government redress the years of spending cuts, which have decimated the budgets of libraries, museums, galleries, theatres, and other cultural centres.

These cuts have caused closures, job losses and restricted opening times. They have severely limited the access to the arts for the public and they cannot continue, says UNISON.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Libraries are vital to local communities. Without them, many people would be isolated and have no access to books, films, music or activities.

“Public services are running on empty and councils are still axing thousands of jobs in a desperate attempt to save core services like adult and children’s social care. While this goes on the arts will undoubtedly suffer.

“The government must act now to protect these vital services before they are ruined beyond repair.”

Regional Media Contact:

Nick Turnbull T: 0207 535 6575 E: n.turnbull@unison.co.uk