Prospect general secretary Paul Noon and president Nigel Titchen have thanked all those Prospect members and reps who helped make Saturday's March for the Alternative such a success. They said: "The Prospect turnout exceeded all expectations and it was really good to see such a wide spread of branches and areas covered.

"We reckon that there were between 500 and 600 of us there from Prospect which is by far the highest turnout we have ever had for any event."

The TUC estimated that up to half a million people turned out for the march – the biggest union-organised protest in 20 years – from students to pensioners, a vast array of trade union banners, parents with their children and local community groups, marching to the background of steel drums, whistles and and vuvuzelas.

Noon and Titchen said: "No-one is pretending that this demonstration alone will reverse government policy but it did show publicly and clearly the extent and breadth of concern about the damage being done to our public services."

Referring to the widely reported skirmishes at the end, they added: "The antics of a few hooligans who were really nothing to do with the march can obscure this, although it was a shame that the media gave them so much attention."

Many of those in the Prospect contingent were first-time protesters. David Price, a health and safety inspector from Birmingham, said: "I'm not impressed by the way the government is running the economy. They are making some serious errors and pushing the whole country into recession."

Peter Crow, a researcher from the Forestry Commission in Hampshire, said: "I'm here because I feel this coalition government is making too many cuts, too deeply and too quickly."

Alison Dorling, from Natural England in Sheffield, said: "I'm fed up with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. This is my first ever demonstration. I just feel really strongly that its getting worse and worse, and collectively we need to do something about it."

A YouGov poll published on Saturday for the TUC showed that most people back the aims of TUC March for the Alternative

YouGov asked: "On Saturday 26 March, members of the public, community groups and trade unions will march in London to campaign against public sector spending cuts.

"Generally speaking, do you support or oppose the aim of the march to campaign against public sector spending cuts?" The majority (52 per cent) said yes, with one in three (31 per cent) disagreeing. Even one in five Conservative voters backed the aims of the march.