Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Manchester to protest against austerity and Brexit, as the Conservative Party holds its annual conference in the northern English city.

The anti-austerity protest, organized by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity group to “demand an alternative to austerity” and an end to the Tory government, started at noon local time and the ‘Reject Brexit, Defend Democracy’ march started two hours later.

Protesting at the Tory party conference in Manchester today. Saying no to austerity and the poverty this government has forced on us. pic.twitter.com/Uy81Q9j7Qj — Billie Fletcher (@billiefletcherr) September 29, 2019

Rain not deterring protestors here in Manchester, where Tory Party Conference is taking place.Several groups marching through the city for a number of different reasons (austerity, Brexit, Kashmir, Hong Kong etc). There are even people dressed as clowns playing the drums... pic.twitter.com/aoKEaGMN5x — Shehab Khan (@ShehabKhan) September 29, 2019

Addressing his party’s conference on Sunday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to stay put in his post and to deliver Brexit come the October 31 deadline, even if he fails to secure a deal with the EU.

It’s not clear how Johnson intends to tackle a new law which compels the prime minister to request another extension of the UK’s exit date if no deal has been reached by a mid-October EU summit.

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