Protesters to rally in Hackney over US trade deal

David Babbs, executive director at 38 Degrees, said: “Ordinary people have had enough of corporations bulldozing through our public services.”

Protesters will march in Hackney today (Saturday) as part of a national day of action against a trade deal which campaigners argue will have a detrimental effect on the NHS .

The demonstration will attempt to raise awareness about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – a deal between Europe and the USA which, according to campaigners, could force the NHS to compete with American private healthcare providers.

The TTIP will allow multinational businesses to sue the UK government if British laws affect their profits or if private health services are brought back into public ownership.

Dr Coral Jones, GP at London Fields Medical Centre, is taking part in the protest. She said: “This treaty and the investor dispute mechanism, which is an entirely secret court where companies can challenge governments over loss of profits, are a threat to all public services and especially the NHS, and remove power from elected governments to legislate for the public good.”

The protest aims to encourage local people to contact London MEPs and ask them to oppose the trade deal in the European Parliament.

It is being organised by campaign group 38 Degrees and more than 180,000 people have signed a petition against the TTIP.

David Babbs, executive director at 38 Degrees, said: “Ordinary people have had enough of corporations bulldozing through our public services.

“This deal is a threat to the NHS: it would give multi-national corporations the rights to carve up our health service, and sue the government for loss of profits if they didn’t make enough money.

“This Saturday should be a wake-up call to MEPs: it’s time they stood up for the people who voted them into power, not big business. That’s why thousands of 38 Degrees members will be taking to the streets.”However, others are in favour of the trade agreement.

Sam Bowman, from economic thinktank The Adam Smith Institute, said: “TTIP is a great opportunity to grab one of the last pieces of low-hanging fruit in terms of free trade.

“The EU and US are, by far, the largest economies in the world, and opening each other’s markets to increased trade means we can all get richer, faster.

“Opponents of TTIP are basically either clinging to antiquated pre-Smithian economics or are deeply misinformed about what TTIP actually does. They should be ignored.”

On Saturday, protests will also be held in Twickenham and Dagenham. The protests will rally outside Westminster at 2pm.

In Hackney, protests will start at 11am outside Hackney Town Hall and Broadway Market at the entrance to London Fields. For more information, click here.