The #HardestHit Rally and Protest March in London. May 2011

On 11th May an estimated 8,000 Disabled people marched from Whitehall Park, up Embankment, past Portcullis House, around Parliament Square and past The Houses of Commons to protest against the cuts to Benefits.

This is my film. Which features shots from the LIVE WEBCAST that I managed to do via my mobile phone, interviews with various Disabled people taking part, and the full speeches from the Rally that took place before the march took off..

Background to the march and rally in London:

Disabled people, those with long-term conditions and their families are being hit hard by cuts to the benefits (provided by The Department for Work and Pensions) and services (provided by city councils) they need to live their lives.

The Hardest Hit campaign, is organised jointly by the Disability Benefits Consortium and the UK Disabled People's Council - which aims to bring together individuals and organisations to send a clear message to the Government, to.... "STOP THESE CUTS! AND TREAT PEOPLE WITH LONG-TERM DISABILITIES FAIRLY!"

Search on Twitter for the hashtag : #HardestHit

This event was the largest march and rally, by disabled people in living memory, to take place in the UK (if not, the world!).

In meeting and writing to the MPs at The House of Commons, Disabled people like me, highlighted the necessity of support for disabled people, and the extent of my concerns about the cuts to benefits and services, and how this will effect people like me with various long-term disability's.

Media Coverage in the UK Press, Television, Radio and Online..:

The march was covered by BBC Television, BBC Radio (inc BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4), ITN News and Channel 4 News.

The day's event also received attention in the Guardian Newspaper (and online). The Guardian also did a live feed of the day, featuring many journalists from the newspaper reporting from the event.

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[samdownielive]

ooops! - there's a few spelling errors on people names on this video. Will make corrections and upload a new version of this video soon.

[spud4peas]

d. here again, I'd be happy with your first 10 secs to put in the middle of mine somewhere.

[spud4peas]

Hi Sam, my name is d. and I will be covering the Hardest Hit march in Swansea on Saturday next. I wonder if I could use some of your very good footage? Look forward to hearing back from you,

d.

spud4peas

[stacey1961]

what sort of country do we live in that takes away from the very needy :?