Boot Out Austerity
Social Workers Walking for Social Justice
In April 2017 a group of social workers and supporters walked 100 miles – from the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Head Office in Birmingham to the BASW Annual General Meeting venue in Liverpool – to draw attention to our demand: Boot Out Austerity.
Boot Out Austerity Film
“Austerity is a political choice, not an economic necessity. There is a growing awareness the financial crisis of 2008 did not require benefits to be reduced or essential public services to be cut. The devastation this has wrought was graphically depicted in the remarkable film, I, Daniel Blake, and social workers know many real-life equivalents of Ken Loach’s fictional characters.”
Announcing the launch of the Boot Out Austerity campaign BASW Chair Guy Shennan said:
“Social workers see the effects of austerity every day in the misery and hardship it brings to people’s lives and are saying enough is enough. We also see the resilience of the people who use social work services, and continue to find constructive ways to work alongside them, retaining hope in the face of adversity.”
BASW Chair Guy Shennan
Boot Out Austerity – Liverpool Today 25th April
On April 19th the group of social workers and supporters set off from Birmingham on the seven-day walk to Liverpool. Drawing inspiration from the Jarrow marchers of 1936, and more recently the People’s March for the NHS in 2014 and a group of psychologists who Walked the Talk in 2015, the aim of the walkers was to highlight the devastating impact of nine years of austerity.
A core group of eight people, alongside a small backup team, were joined by over a hundred people along the way. On route, they were looked after by friends and strangers alike; along the way they slept on church floors and received food from foodbanks and day centres.
Liverpool Today reports on the Boot Out Austerity march when it arrived in Liverpool on 25 April 2017.
Boot Out Austerity facts
Boot Out Austerity Marches On
The Boot Our Austerity walk might have ended but not the campaigning. A small group of participants have collated the knowledge gained in the planning and executing of the walk into the Leave No Stone Unturned in the Fight Against Austerity: Campaign Action Pack to encourage people to take action against austerity.
From the outset Boot Out Austerity has sought out allies from likeminded groups and individuals. It has created opportunities to Encourage, Promote, and Collaborate with other groups
Boot Out Austerity was not just a walk but a movement. Here is another project that we have been involved with:
Austerity Fight (2017)
Filmakers Hazuan Hashim & Phil Maxwell put back the final editing of this film to enable them to include Boot Out Austerity’s journey in this hard-hitting documentary. The world premiere was held on 17 June 2017 as part of the East End Film Festival.