The Durham Miners Gala is a big occasion for our friends in the trade unions, local people, and across our movement.

To be able to celebrate in person for the first time in three years makes it extra special. 

The fact this year’s gala is dedicated to the key workers who kept our country going during the pandemic, makes it even more poignant. 

During the pandemic, the British people rose to greatness. 

We looked after each other, we looked in on our neighbours, we shouldered each other’s grief. 

The pandemic revealed so many hidden heroes. 

Shopworkers, shelf stackers, cleaners, refuse collectors, delivery drivers, care workers, teachers, nurses, doctors, and so many others. 

Your celebration comes at a crucial time for working people. 

Britain is stuck in a dangerous rut: a backlog of the Tories’ making. 

Everywhere you look things are broken. Nothing gets fixed.

Under the Tories, growth is stalled, prices are rising, bills are going up, inflation is soaring, and wages aren’t keeping up. 

As the son of a tool maker and a nurse, I saw my parents working hard. Taking pride in their jobs. Having that work rewarded properly. 

It frustrates me that in Tory Britain, too many families are working harder but getting less. 

It frustrates me that for all their warm words and promises, the Tories only pay lip service to the importance of everyone getting the chance at a good quality job. 

The Tories are failing to support your creativity, hard work, and commitment to getting on.

And worse, to mask the shambles they are making of government, they use their time distracting with blame and division. 

When employees dare to stand up for poor terms and conditions, rather than work with the trade unions, engaging with workers, and putting the public first, ministers pick a fight. 

Instead of bringing people together in the national interest, seeking common endeavour for common cause, they stoke division in their political interest.

The Tory Party have inflicted chaos upon the country during the worst cost of living crisis in decades.

Now Boris Johnson is, almost, gone. His resignation this week was overdue. 

He was always unfit for office.

He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale.

And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed.

But, this is about more than the person at the top. 

We are 12 years into a Conservative government, and we’re all paying the price. 

Their fourth Prime Minister in six years cannot make up for a record of failure. 

Another Tory leader is not the answer. 

Britain needs a fresh start. 

It is vital that we reboot our economy, re-energise our communities, and revitalise our public services. 

People say to me that when they look at those running the country, they see a group of people totally detached from reality, whose words mean nothing, and who put their own interest first.

Who could blame them for concluding that politics doesn’t matter and doesn’t work?

But in the right hands, politics can be a force for good. 

It can change lives for the better. 

In May’s local elections, we had a good result in Sunderland. Since then, we’ve won councils seat in Durham, and Middlesbrough.  We’ve shown that only Labour has the ideas, vision, and optimism that Britain needs to get back on track. 

But I know it’s not just about ideas. 

I know I must convince you to put your trust in me, and my Party, to deliver.  

What you will always get from me honesty, integrity, and a promise to work every day, with you, for the good of our country.

Just as the Durham Miners showed when they took on their unscrupulous bosses, working together collectively means we achieve so much more. 

Labour is ready for government.

Let’s come together and get to work. 

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