We marched to save the NHS

While Hendon Town Hall saw all manner of drama this evening, including Lynne Hillan sending a statement announcing she is stepping down as Barnet council leader, Barnet Alliance for Public Services made its collective way to central London to participate in the March to Save the NHS.

The march aimed to show some of the opposition that exists to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's Health and Social Care Bill. For a weekday evening, it was a good turnout of a few thousand, with a good spread of organisations represented. From Barnet, as well as the Barnet Alliance, Middlesex University Students Union were present.

The march started from outside University College Hospital, where I had an unpleasant brush with a security official banning me from taking a photo from the steps of the hospital: this is Foundation Trust property, he kept telling me. Amazing, isn't it? And Lansley's privatisation drive hasn't even started yet. This guy could have given MetPro some lessons, I tell you! Still, I got my shot.

We marched down Gower Street, part of Shaftesbury Avenue (past my workplace!), down Charing Cross Road, through Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall. We finished up outside Richmond House, the HQ of the Department of Health in England.

An additional feature of the evening was witnessing the weekly picket by Syrian democracy campaigners, opposite Downing Street. So what if I missed animals on the Hendon Town Hall lawn this evening!

I have a few pictures of the evening here. While they expose my lack of skills in photographing in twilight, only a couple are taken at weird angles - I'm learning.

P.S. Did I really miss animals on the lawn at Hendon Town Hall this evening? That would have been something to see...