London ( CNN ) -- Amid a din of whistles and klaxons , and bearing banners emblazoned with `` No cuts '' and `` Austerity is failing , '' thousands of protesters marched past London 's landmarks Saturday in a show of popular anger over government cutbacks . `` I do n't like the government 's policy , I do n't think it works and I think the most vulnerable people suffer -- that 's why I 'm here , '' said one woman on the march . The planned cuts to services and payments that help the sick and disabled are `` shameful , '' she said . Culminating in a mass rally in Hyde Park , the protest , staged by unions representing public sector workers and others , reflects a rising tide of discontent among many over the austerity measures brought in or proposed by the coalition government . Marches were also held in the Scottish city of Glasgow and Belfast in Northern Ireland . Addressing the crowds , opposition leader Ed Miliband , of the Labour Party , criticized the government 's policies as unfairly putting the burden of austerity on ordinary workers and cutting `` too far , too fast . '' `` None of these people think that Britain owes them a living , none of these people are asking for the earth -- they just have a simple request : They want a Britain that works for them . They believe we do better as one nation , '' he said . Miliband was booed , however , when he said that he could not promise `` easy times , '' or rule out any cuts to services . If in power , a Labour government too would have to take steps to balance the books , he said -- although he insisted it would target the country 's millionaires with tax rises , rather than taking money from the poorest members of society , as he accuses the government of doing . A banner carried by one protester put the responsibility for the country 's woes squarely on the shoulders of the prime minister , proclaiming `` Cameron has butchered Britain . '' But speaking at his Conservative Party 's national conference earlier this month , David Cameron defended the government 's austerity program , saying `` painful decisions '' had to be made to bring down the deficit . He acknowledged , though , that the path ahead was not easy . `` Here 's the truth , '' Cameron said . `` The damage was worse than we thought , and it 's taking longer than we hoped . '' But public sector worker Lee Billingham , 42 , said life was getting too tough for many , as costs continue to rise . `` I think the deficit is an excuse to cut our wages and cut public services , '' he told CNN . `` My pay has been frozen for three years now and it 's really hard to make ends meet . '' The Trades Union Congress , a federation that includes most British unions , said ahead of the event , dubbed `` A Future That Works , '' that it expected tens of thousands of union members to turn out in London . The Metropolitan Police declined to provide an estimate of the number taking part in the march and rally . While the demonstration itself was peaceful , groups of masked youths were seen shouting at police and running through the streets in central London on Saturday afternoon . A police spokesman said officers had responded to some incidents but that no damage to property had been reported . TUC secretary general Brendan Barber told protesters in Hyde Park : `` We have a stark and united message for the government . Austerity is n't working . It is hitting our jobs , our services , our living standards . '' `` It is hammering the poorest and the most vulnerable . And austerity is failing even on its own terms , for this is a government of broken promises . `` Ministers told us that if we only accept the pain , recovery would come . Instead we have been mired in a double dip recession . '' The TUC wants the government to abandon its program of cuts to public services and austerity measures in favor of investment in infrastructure , new industries and training . Without a focus on growth and job creation , especially for young people , the nation faces a `` lost decade '' of decline , it warns . Chancellor George Osborne said last month though that the economy was `` healing , '' and that the government 's strategy was delivering results `` despite strong headwinds . '' `` But the scale of the challenge is so great that there are no quick fixes or easy routes to recovery , '' he told business leaders in Scotland . `` The debts built up in our economy over the last decade will take time to unwind . '' Both Osborne and Cameron have pointed to the eurozone crisis as a factor in the current economic situation , saying it has cast a shadow over the British economy . Britain is one of a number of European nations , Spain and Italy among them , laboring under a large burden of public debt in the wake of the global economic downturn . Violent clashes between police and protesters have broken out at anti-austerity protests in Greece and Spain in recent months . The UK unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.9 % for the period from June to August this year , the Office for National Statistics said this week . However , many young people are without work . CNN 's Erin McLaughlin , Laura Smith-Spark and Per Nyberg contributed to this report .
NEW : Police respond to trouble by small groups of masked protesters . Large numbers join union-backed marches in London , Glasgow and Belfast . People `` want a Britain that works for them , '' says Labour Party leader Ed Miliband . Score: 6