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Durham Miners’ Gala: Liveblog

July 14, 2012 10:18 am

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15.00: A well received speech from Miliband but little new in terms of content – more significant for it taking place than anything else. I’ll be writing a full review later.

But for today, the liveblog comes to an end. I’m off to grab a beer and listen to some brass bands – thanks for sticking with us.

14.43: Miliband says clean coal must be part of our future.

14.40: Miliband gets a prolonged ovation before he’s even started. Says he’s proud to be here and follow in the footsteps of so many other Labour figures.

14.23: But before Ed, guest speakers from Spain. What might have been a friendly crowd for Ed might be a bit tougher now they’ve been standing still listening to speeches for 90 minutes.

14.18: Ed Miliband up next as the final speaker.

14.12: Serwotka calls for a rent cap. Ed Miliband applauds – will Labour back a rent cap?

14.05: Next up – and speaking directly before Ed, is Mark Serwotka from PCS. Not sure who decided PCS directly before the Labour leader was a good idea…

14.00: Kenny also calls for more working class MPs.

13.56: GMB Gen Sec Paul Kenny up next. He calls for a Crackdown on tax avoidance.

13.34: Did you know? Of 49,000 unfair dismissal claims, only 8 (EIGHT) were reinstated …

13.24: Next up is Liberty’s Shami Chakrabarti, who talks again about the historic nature of the Gala,.

13.19: Seems unlikely that Ed Miliband didn’t know about the RMT/FBU element of Watson’s speech. They are sat next to each other.

13.09: Watson’s speech focused on the history of the “Big Meeting”, and makes a  Defence of the union link – even calling on the RMT and FBU to rejoin the Labour Party

13.04: Massive ovation for the first speaker Tom Watson

12.30: After much marching, we’ve arrived at the cricket field ready for the speeches. They should start at 1pm.

11.07: Most of the bands backing up next to the County Hotel, but some have reached the cricket ground now. Speeches will probably start in an hour.

10.55: We missed Ed Miliband on the balcony – but we hear he got a good reception.

10.37: Tony Benn and GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny up on the balcony of the County Hotel – I’ll be trying to get up there later (unlikely…):

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10.29: Community, working class culture and pride in place. Maurice Glasman would love this…

10.24: The brass band ahead of me have just started playing “The Great Escape” – make your own jokes…

10.10: Morning everyone from a packed Durham. There are brass bands as far as the eye can see and more banners than you can shake a Davy Lamp at. I’ll be bringing you periodic update throughout the day – including speeches from Ed Miliband and Tom Watson.

And to get us started – here’s a view of some of the marchers crossing the River Wear:

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  • John Ruddy

    This might seem pedantic, but in the North East, it was NEVER a Davy Lamp. They always used a Geordie Lamp – invented by George Stephenson, a working class son of a Pitman, now better known for his work on early Railways…. It is said this is why they are called Geordies….

    • treborc

       Our mines are so deep in Wales they never used a budgie they took down a parrot, if it said sh*t that stinks, they got out fast.

    • Brumanuensis

      You learn something new everyday!

      I have to say I thought ‘Geordie’ came from Newcastle’s strong support for the Hanoverians during the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745 (hence ‘Geordie’ for Kings George I & II). I’m probably wrong.

    • Ericcusack1

      It is pedantic!! My Dad and Grandad both worked at Westoe and Davy lamp was a term I always knew from an early age, they never refereed to Geordie lamps, but hey who cares, it’s silly little matters  like this that have dogged the Labour movement and Trade unions for years, why should we start concentrating on the real issues together after all this time, when we can nit pick at each other instead??

  • Daniel Speight

    Hopefully the guests from Spain are Spanish miners who are fighting austerity there with every bone in their bodies.

  • http://twitter.com/WeTheCommunists We The Communists

    After 23 years, a Labour leader has attended the Durham Miner’s Gala. One small step towards the right direction.

    Meanwhile, listen to what Baroness Warsi has to say about the visit – “…to cosy up to his militant, left-wing union paymasters.”
    A word to Baroness Warsi- it is better to cosy up with ordinary workers – than not to declare directorship and shareholding in private companies. It is much much better than being investigated by parliament watchdog over reports of accommodation allowance abuse…. http://wethecommunists.wordpress.com

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Homfray/510980099 Mike Homfray

    What I like is that  Ed clearly feels totally comfortable alongside Labour and union people in our heartlands

  • Stuart

    You forgot to mention the speech by John Hendy obn Trade Union rights and the lack of them. He explicitly called on Ed Milliband to ‘take note’ and repeal the anti-trade union laws which have made Britain the country with the most repressive anti-trade union country.

    With further restrictions on employment rights being planned by the Tories, and unions being prevented from taking lawful industrial action this is not an issue that is going away 

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