TIME TO BAIL

The great Bank Bail-in kicked off on Saturday (19th), when hundreds of UK Uncut activists set up impromptu libraries, mothers’ breakfast clubs and stand-up comedy shows in over 35 Barclays bank branches around the country.

The Tottenham Court Road Branch of Barclays was taken over by a group of kids, parents and carers protesting cuts to play provision. The unruly mob played giant snakes and ladders and coloured in their own banners while enjoying a spot of breakfast.

The scene was repeated across the UK with peaceful sit-ins, reading groups and creches taking place in branches from Birmingham to Edinburgh. Marches and pickets against Barclayswere also staged around the country including Brighton, Northampton and Sheffield.

The protests were part of UK Uncut’s recently launched ‘Big Society Bail-In’, a plan to ‘open up’ the banks rather than shutting them down. Barclays were first on the hit list after their recent announcement of an enormous bonus pool of £3.4bn, with a personal bonus of £9m to go to CEO Bob “the time for remorse is over” Diamond.

On Saturday (26th), UK Uncut will be targeting RBS, just days after it revealed a bonus pool of £900m, news that coincided with the announcement that 50,000 NHS jobs are to be cut.