Thame Councillor joins Jarrow march for the NHS

Protestors agains NHS cuts and changes march through the streets of Norhampton yesterday

A Town Councillor from Thame has joined hundreds of other people in support of a group of mums from Darlington who are marching 300 miles from Jarrow to London, along the same route as the Jarrow Crusade in 1936, in protest against, what they see as the privatisation of the National Health Service.

Labour Party member, Cllr Mary Stiles, joined ‘The People’s March’ in Northampton yesterday and marched with them part way to Bedford. She explained her motivation for joining the march: “My younger daughter works for the NHS in Sunderland and marched on the first leg on Saturday, August 16, from Jarrow to Chester-Le-Street. She said it was amazing the support from hundreds of people, not only on the march, but also from people on the route who turned out to cheer them on their way.

“Our NHS is so precious, we feel we must do something. As Nye Bevin said, ‘ There will be an NHS as long as there are folk willing to fight for it’.”

Thame Town Cllr Mary Stiles enjoys a cuppa in Thame

The Labour Party’s General Election Candidate for the Henley and Thame Constituency, Sam Juthani, is also planning to join the march at some point before it finishes at The Houses of Parliament on Saturday, September 6.