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Progressives vow resistance against brutal new government

CAMPAIGNERS vowed today to fight tooth and nail against Tory attacks on Britain’s public services, the welfare state and workers’ and women’s rights.

The chorus of resistance came as the country plunged into another five years of brutal Conservative rule today with the party winning a majority of 361 seats to Labour’s 203. 

Hands Off our NHS vowed to continue their campaign against privatisation plans of the health service in future trade deals with the US. 

The group’s co-chair Dr Tony O’Sullivan said: “We now resolve to continue to campaign, lobby and fight to ensure that our voice is heard and our demands are met to fund the NHS fully and to return the NHS to 100 per cent public duty and provision as soon as possible.”

Abortion Rights chair Kerry Abel warned that the new government poses risks to women’s right to choose. 

“There’s no doubt, if we don’t see a significant step [for] change, our reproductive rights are under threat,” Ms Abel said, highlighting that the Tories have remained suspiciously silent on the issue of abortion. 

The Peace Pledge Union also chimed in, promising “continuous resistance” against Mr Johnson’s plans to end trials for veterans accused of human rights violations, while anti-racist campaigners held a “Not my Prime Minister” protest outside Downing Street yesterday evening.

“We must now prepare to build a movement against a Prime Minister who has used racist and dehumanising language to describe Muslim, African and Caribbean communities and the racism that will almost certainly accompany the forthcoming attacks on living standards for working people,” Stand Up to Racism co-convener Sabby Dhalu said.

Hashtags #notmygovernment and #notmyPM were trending on Twitter today with users rejecting Mr Johnson as their representative. 

Trade unionists highlighted the importance for all workers to join a union, with the TUC’s Frances O’Grady warning: “Now more than ever, working people need to stand together in their unions and get ready to fight to protect our livelihoods and our communities.”

Communication union CWU’s leader Dave Ward shared Ms O’Grady’s call but also stressed that the TUC itself must also “step up like never more” to protect jobs and workers’ rights. 

The unions are up against Mr Johnson’s promise to ban all-out rail strikes and the Tories’ Brexit deal, which GMB warned could allow the government to attack workers’ rights in the future. 

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