A march organised by trade unions in London and expected to attract 200,000 people on Saturday may be the beginning of a period of industrial action and protests, according to the leader of the UK’s largest union, Unite.

Len McCluskey said he anticipated that in excess of 200,000 individuals would take part in this weekend’s demonstration against the Government’s spending cutbacks. He said that Saturday’s protest will be the beginning of more widespread public action.

Mr McCluskey stated the Unite union and its 1.5 million members, will support all strikes and protests in opposition to the coalition’s austerity measures. The Government is cutting £81 billion from public spending in an effort to eradicate the majority of the budget deficit by 2015.

The Unite head went on to say that industrial action will grow and nothing should be ruled out, and that although he was opposed to violent measures, he supported organisations like UK Uncut that have occupied businesses they believe to be avoiding taxes. He said the anger will become more widespread as the cutbacks increase the effects we are now beginning to see.

This weekend’s protest is predicted to be the largest organised in the UK by trade unions for a generation and the biggest in the capital since the massed protest in opposition to the intended invasion of Iraq during 2003. It comes in the wake of mounting unemployment and cuts in public spending, as the effects of the Government’s austerity measures begin to be felt.