Thousands of people have protested in Birmingham against reduced public spending as the Conservative conference got under way in the city.

Speaking at the rally, Mark Serwotka, of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said strikes were “inevitable” to “turn the tide” against the cuts.

West Midlands Police estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people took part in the protest.

Ahead of the conference, Prime Minister David Cameron urged people to keep the cuts in perspective.

When the crowds got as close to the conference venue as they were allowed, they stopped in the road to make as loud a noise as possible.

The two-hour march passed through Lionel Street, Summer Row, Holiday Street, Gas Street and Broad Street.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Conservative party said: “Everybody has the right to peaceful protest.

“Birmingham is a welcoming city for all – regardless of their political views.”

Supt Dave Sturman, commander for the policing of the Conservative Party conference, said: “We are very pleased with the way the march has gone this afternoon.

“The protesters were peaceful and the operation went largely to plan.

“At this stage there have been no arrests and we have received no reports of any criminal offences, such as damage, as a result of the event.”

The event was organised by ‘The Right to Work‘ and the march was headed by PCS members.  Following the event PCS members had the opportunity to share their thoughts with Tory party delegates.

The full BBC article can be viewed here and photos of the event can be viewed here.

Alice Caldwell Rice

I had to get up early to man the picket line which in our case meant standing well away from workers driving into the car park for fear of being run over. There have been quite a few incidences of near misses due to people looking in totally the wrong direction (because they are too embarrassed to look at us) when entering the car parks. It was rather chilly and my back seized up a bit due to standing around for too long, but it didn’t rain even though there was an ominous black cloud overhead.

Following that I had to take my car home and get to my local railway station so that I could attend a rally and demo in Birmingham.   During the 20 minute walk from my house to the station I lost the heel off my shoe! One of my colleagues knew there was a shoe repair place on the way out of the station at Birmingham. I went in only to find that the sole of my shoe had split too!!!

I needed replacement shoes, so now I was a woman on a mission! I rushed up the street into the Clarke’s shoe shop  and did a quick scan of the shoes and found just the type I needed and prayed they had them in my size. They did (which is unusual) and I tried them on and they fitted perfectly. I explained the situation and was allowed to keep the shoes on, all that was needed was the label of the shoe bottom to scan in for me to make the purchase. To top it all  the assistant kindly offered to dispose of my less than adequate shoes. Who says a girl can’t shop in 10 minutes flat

I got to Victoria Square in plenty of time for the demo which was followed by a rally in the Britannia Hotel, plenty of time for catching up with my colleagues and a well earned evening meal before the train journey home.

So it will be another early start to another busy day for me. I shall be outside my workplace for an hour or so and then I shall make my way over to Birmingham for a rally. I think I might get rather wet because the weather doesn’t look to promising, so wish me luck.

I nearly forgot to add that I am likely to be appearing in a town near you too

The stoppage, called by PCS, follows a strongly supported two day strike earlier in March which saw up to 200,000 civil and public servants stay away from work over changes to the civil service compensation scheme.

Tomorrow’s strike, the first ever on budget day, involves Prison workers, Jobcentre staff, tax workers, passport staff, court officials, Ministry of Defence workers and driving test examiners. The stoppage will also see civilian staff and 999 operators working for the Met Police walking out as well as security staff working in the Houses of Parliament. Serious Organised Crime Agency officers will also be on strike affecting operations tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning will see a battle bus taking to the streets in London touring picket lines including: The Royal Courts of Justice, The Houses of Parliament, The Victoria and Albert Museum, British Library, Tate Modern and government departments in Whitehall including the Treasury.

In London there will also be a campaign boat cruising up and down the Thames outside the Houses of Parliament and a demonstration in Parliament Square from 11 am to 1pm.

In Scotland, there will be a demonstration at the Mound in Edinburgh from 10.30 am and a short ‘alternative budget’ will be presented at 11.00 am. In Glasgow, members will gather at Labour Party HQ, West Regent Street, at 11 am and hand in a letter to the Scottish Labour leader.

Wales will see a budget day demonstration and rally on the steps of Senedd, Cardiff Bay from 12 noon to 4:00pm. The last two day stoppage saw the cancellation of business in the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament as assembly members and MSP refused to cross picket lines.

I had so many threes it was difficult to pick a favourite so I have chosen three threes.

The first picture is of friends and colleagues during a demonstration in Birmingham last week where we were campaigning to keep our terms and conditions.

The following two are a bit more lighthearted they are  from my weekend in Malmesbury last June.

The three geraniums are in paint tins and are hanging outside a shop that sells paint.  There used to be four of them, but one had been stolen and on the hook where it used to be there was a notice asking for it’s return.

The final picture I just couldn’t resist because I am rather fond of poppies

For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.