Tens of thousands of striking workers have taken part in protests through central London.
Huge numbers of strikers joined a protest outside Downing Street while the Chancellor was delivering the Budget in the nearby House of Commons.
Union leaders have been addressing a rally in Trafalgar Square where they have strongly criticised the Government over its handling of the public sector disputes. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, told the crowds: “We will strike until we win.”
Hundreds of picket lines were mounted outside government offices, schools, hospitals, universities and Tube stations on Wednesday as the biggest walkout for years threatened to overshadow the Budget.
Up to half a million junior doctors, teachers, civil servants, lecturers, London Underground drivers, BBC journalists and Amazon workers are taking industrial action. The disputes are over pay, jobs, pensions, conditions and cuts, with warnings of more strikes if they are not resolved.Sadiq Khan hit back after the Prime Minster blamed Wednesday’s Tube strikes on the “incompetent running of TfL”.
During PMQs Rishi Sunak said TfL bosses were responsible for the “misery being inflicted on Londoners” as Underground workers again walked out in a long running dispute over pay and conditions.
Mr Sunak said the Mayor has received £6bn in additional funding for transport, adding: “So for us to be in a situation that we find ourselves in today is simply unacceptable.”
