Anti-Tory rave: Marathon 40-hour ‘anti-austerity protest rave’ held in Manchester ahead of Conservative conference
Protesters standing outside a Tory delegate hotel are chanting ‘Tories go home’
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Your support makes all the difference.A marathon protest rave held ahead of the Conservative party conference in Manchester lasting nearly 40 hours has been shut down by police.
The rave, which had been set-up in protest against the Government’s austerity measures, started at 10pm on Friday night and saw hundreds of people descend on the park.
Protesters danced for hours while loud dance music was blasted out of the sound-system, next to signs reading: “Tories not welcome”.
The unusual protest - which attracted around 400 people at its peak - drew countless complaints from residents and local businesses about the noise, while Tory delegates were targeted directly at their hotel.
At one point, a group of around 30 protesters marched up to The Midland hotel, where David Cameron and other ministers are staying, and began shouting “Tories go home,” the Manchester Evening News reported.
The Midland Hotel received several complaints from guests but police said there was little they could do at the time.
Chief Superintendent John O'Hare, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "Throughout the last two days officers have tried to reason with the organisers to find a middle ground which would enable their protest to continue without causing such unreasonable disruption to the wider community
"Unfortunately they have shown little regard for others, refused to turn the music down to reasonable levels and as a result have made life very uncomfortable for residents and businesses."
"Greater Manchester Police will always try to allow people to exercise their right to peaceful protest, and indeed we will see tens of thousands of people travel to the city today to do just that.
While the protest has now been brought to a close, an estimated 80,000 people are expected to march through the city’s streets at a planned anti-austerity rally on Sunday.
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