They came from around the country to make their feelings about the Government clear ahead of the Labour Party conference, which starts a few hundred yards away tomorrow.
The march - estimated by organisers to be 60,000-strong, although police claimed 20,000 - set off at around 2pm. At the same time, Tony Blair and his wife Cherie arrived at the Radisson Hotel to enthusiastic applause from party activists.
But it was the protestors who were filling the city centre with the sound of whistles and drumming and the sight of colourful banners proclaiming such slogans as "Blair Must Go" and "War Not Peace".
Share your pictures from the march here.
The two-hour march took them down Princess Street and past the G-MEX - the centre of the conference - where boos and chants of "Blair out" reached a crescendo. The protestors winded their way on to Deansgate, where they staged a mass "die in" before looping up past Market Street and back to Albert Square.More than 1,000 police officers formed solid lines around the town hall and at the front and back of the procession.
The GMP helicopter monitored events from above and dozens of mounted officers were also out on the street.
Lindsey German, national convenor of the Stop the War Coalition said "around 50,000" had taken part in the march - the biggest protest since the 1860s.
"We have written a page in Manchester's history," she said. "I don't think this is a message Labour can ignore."
Lauren Booth, Cherie Blair's sister, said: "I am here in solidarity with 50,000 people to call for the troops to come home from Afghanistan and Iraq and for Tony Blair to stand down as Prime Minister for his calamitous foreign policy.
"This is absolutely not a personal thing. It is a political judgement that I share with about 80 per cent of the population of this country."
Other speakers included Respect leader George Galloway and left-wing Labour veteran Tony Benn.
Human rights campaigner, Bianca Jagger, who travelled to Manchester on a special "peace train" from London, said the protest proved that most of the British people were against the war in Iraq.
"You cannot export democracy through the barrel of a gun."
Protester Jack Carter, 68, a retired lecturer from Wigan, said: "We are here because of the lies of this New Labour government. It's time for a change."
Rami Almousa, 26, from Loughborough, said: "There are a lot of people here so hopefully they [the Government] will hear what we are saying."
GMP confirmed no one was arresting during the march.
Superintendent John O'Hare said: "On behalf of GMP, I would like to extend my thanks to the organisers and those who took part in today's protest, for cooperating with us and behaving peacefully and lawfully."
Share your pictures from the march here.
Tweet
Comments
Login or Register to comment
A new page in Manchester's history and a very proud day for the city.
I'd ship the lot of them out of the country starting Monday.
Is that the best these so called anti - war protestors can do?20,000 from around the country out of a population of 60,000,000?
That George Galloway is a 'traitor' to this country and should be in the Tower of London as a reminder to people where traitors end up.
Whilst I think everyone has the right to protest against government policy, why do the protestors feel it necessary to march with flags of other counties? Why do they not march behind a union flag? If these people have this countries best interests at heart then why do they not show any aleagence to the country? Or is it perhaps there agenda is rather different the the average UK citizen. Oh and before you think I'm a member of the right, I have voted Labour all my life.
The march was encouraging for the massive turn-out of people from so many different sections of society. Let's just hope that the Government realises sooner rather than later that their policy of "support America right or wrong" is disastrous.
Blair has been the best PM this country has had for many, many years. Only when he goes will he finally be appreciated. Hopefully that won't be too near in the future. A great political party in a great city.
What about a pat on the back for the frontline metrolink staff (drivers and inspectors,managers and supervisors) who were abused and sworn at by the demonstrators who came to demonstrate and then expected to catch a tram home from the city centre as though nothing had happened! jokers! very well done metrolink, g.m.p, b.t.p, and g.m.p.t.e.
the vast majority of people who marched today are saying god bless the muslim terrorist !some of them cannot see further than the end of there noses,let osama win what a sad day for this country!
This Government only hears one voice "And thats there own "
Don't forget that it was about not replacing the Trident's as well! - which is just as important as the other issues that people were marching for.
BLAIR, BLAIR, BLAIR.
OUT OUT OUT!
BLAIR. OUT
BLAIR. OUT.
BLAIR, BLAIR, BLAIR.
OUT OUT OUT!
Ther were more people at the football match at Eastlands!Obviously then the "massive" turnout was a huge success-just the other 59.99999 million people that didn't bother to get involved either don't share the views, or more to the point are happy to have the freedom to NOT engage in silly marches that simply encourage every anti-Western ranter with a grudge to wave his Flag and curse the hand that feeds him.PATHETIC.
Good to see all the blinkered bigots on here. Open your eyes, the government is interested in only one thing - power. Not that this is unique to Blair, though. Why are we at War again? WMD? Nope. Iraq links to Bin Laden? No. A moral requirement to oust Saddam? Hmm, we didn't think of that when the UK government were funding/supplying him and helping him kill his own people. Oil? Now there's an idea. WAKE UP. WE LIVE IN A TERRORIST STATE. Oops, what a contradiction, terrorism is by organisations, not states. That must make it ok then!
Bianca Jagger needs to go back to school and resit her maths. Since when is 20,000 a large majority of the population? How many people live in th uk? I also thought that 100,000 would be attending. Where were the rest? Obviously, anti-war protest do not carry the weight anymore. I'm with James from Altrincham. Tony Blair has been magnificent but I think he should disown his sister in law.
some of these comments are unbelievable. To suggest that people who went on an anti war/peace march are simply condoning the actions of terrorists is extremely ignorant. So the answer to terrorism is to drop bigger bombs on them.? Ridiculous. People were marching for peace and an end to unjustified wars. And also to question allegiances to our own country is absurd. What about our allegiances to the rights of other innocent people being slaughtered everyday in the name of war.
Why do the police always seem to under estimate the number of protesters?
Regardless of whether there were 20,000 or 60,000 - how many would turn out for a keep the troops in Iraq march?
Hmmm, some nice pro-war imperialist comments on here. So the theory is if you don't support the war you aren't a patriot?! What a bunch of fools. Have you any remote idea how horrific war is? Military force should be the last resort, not one for which Bush throws weapons inspectors out of Iraq so he can get stuck in flattening the place and its people, followed by shoe-horning US companies into lucrative rebuilding contracts! A replacement to Trident possibly is required though, purely because we live on an island and should maintain a potent naval defence capability.
How can Bush throw weapons inspectors out of Iraq? They were stopped by a tyrannical dictator who has since, thankfully, been removed from power. Saddam gassed and murdered thousand of his own people. If Blair did that here, would you expect the rest of the world to simply stand by and not get involved? And it's not about oil, as some muppet previously mentioned. The war was really about removing the threat Saddam Hussein posed to the international community
Andy, Bury
Check your facts. Saddam did not throw the weapons inspectors out of Iraq. Bush ordered them out in his run-up to war. Sadly it's all a part of the propaganda that got us where we are today. Get a better grip on reality.
Regardless of whether you agreed with the war or not, presumably the humanitarian option now isn't to withdraw the closest thing to law and order Iraq has and leave the various religious groups to fight and kill their way into power?
Tony Blair's foreign policy may not have been the best, but this country has gone, what, 13 years without recession. That's something we as a country haven't been able to say for decades.
Yes, Labour are interested to a degree in power - that's what leading this country involves. I don't recall Thatcher complaining too much about the power when her pro-middle class policies put 3m on the dole and more companies out of business than the entire second world war.
And yes, I daresay the war was partly about oil - there's not much of it left! Try reading 'Crossing The Rubicon' for more background on this. If we as a nation go mental when petrol reaches 95p, imagine what will happen when it reaches ¿¿2.50. That's a real possibility within a decade.
Next time theres a mass bunch of anti war, terrorist loving do gooders in manchester lets hope they climb up the metrolink electric pole to hang the iraqi flags and fry themselves. Thanks for destroying my saterday of shopping.
Most people in Britain(especially the White women who do not seem to know their history) do not realise that we in the West are waging war because we have the fire power to do so.We are in fact the bullies of the world and have been so for a few hundred years...bullying women,children,poor people, animals at home, and anyone who isn`t Christian and White abroad.
Perhaps if more women realised this,they would look more closely at our "democracy" which we are
attempting to impose on others?Then they might also join the protest on the streets before more women and children and indeed men are killed in our name?
Shame on us all.
DO THESE MIDDLE CLASS HIPPY RICH KIDS WHO TURN OUT IN THERE DROVES AND PROTEST REALLY BELIEVE THAT THE POWERS THAT BE WILL LISTEN??I THINK NOT......IM PRO WAR FOR THE RIGHT REASONS.WELL DONE TO ALL THE BOYS IN THE ARMY WHO ARE DOING THIS COUNTRY PROUD....RICH KIDS GO BACK TO YOUR CREDIT/PARENT FUNDED LIFESYLES AND TRY AND DO SOMETHING WORTHWHILE.
Batfink-if you think you live in a "terrorist"state you really have been watching to many Michael Moorer films....how many "terrorist" states have public message boards,where people can freely post their opinions,without fear?How many"terrorist states"allow people to march against their own government in the streets?How many "terrorist"states allow the freedom to practice whatever religion you follow?Certainly not the ones in the middle east!!
For the first time in my 55 years on this planet, I took part in my first Anti-war demonstration in Manchester on Saturday. I did so because Tony Blair lied to us. He lied to us about WMDs, he lied to us about Saddam having a 45 minute capabillity to attack us, he lied to us about setting the people of Iraq free. They are living under worse oppression, and conditions now than under Sadam (do your research) Our troops are in Iraq because of the oil! our troops are in Afghanistan because "Unocal". (It has been a project-partner many times with "Cheney`s" texas-based Halliburton). wanting to build a pipeline for the "CentGas" project (Central Asia Gas), a massive pipeline that included 750 metres across western Afghanistan. It would connect the vast natural gas reservses of Turkmenistan (possibly the worlds biggest) to a plant and ports on the Arabian sea coast of Pakistan. There is no shortage of oil and Gas!! so "WHY" are we paying higher and higher prices!!! Get The Picture!! Its all owned (stolen) and controlled by the west. I was in Manchester on Saturday, because our troops are fighting an unjust war built on lies, a war that is being fought by brave men and women, for the greed, power and profit of the few. And I was marching in Manchester on Saturday for the familys of the Men and "woman" who will never be coming home again, whos familys have been unjustly, and unlaw-fully robbed of a dearly loved one. I was all-so marching in Manchester for all the people in the middle east, who are daily subjected to the murderous bombs shells and bullets, rapes and horrors no one should ever have to endure, that we in the West can not even comprehend.
Oh...! I was allso marching in Manchester for the person who had his days shopping ruined, and my right to say to our Government, "NOT IN MY NAME"