A huge rally and march took place in Liverpool today to mark International Workers' Day and show support for nurses back on strike.
May Day rallies are held in Liverpool and around the world each year to commemorate the historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labour movement.
In Liverpool today, hundreds of people gathered at Derby Square for the march which was organised by the city's Trades Council. Gathering at midday, people from different unions, community groups and other activists made their way from Derby Square through Liverpool's main shopping district and back through the city centre to where it began, before a number of speeches were made.
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The first May Day rally was held in 1889 in the United States in commemoration of a violent confrontation between police and labour protestors in Chicago three years earlier that resulted in numerous deaths and injuries.
While the May Day march always supports and celebrates workers, this year's event took on greater resonance against a backdrop of widespread strikes and industrial action across a number of industries and public sector groups.
Today nurses were back on the picket line for the latest round of strike action in their battle with the government over pay and working conditions.
Today's 28-hour walk-out has seen the Royal College of Nursing step up their action as it is the first time that areas like intensive care and chemotherapy have been disrupted, with exemptions made in hospitals that are struggling to maintain life-preserving care.
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