A trade union boss will today warn how the UK has become a country of ‘grotesque extremes’ under Tory leadership as ideological divisions and Labour infighting threaten to jeopardise Keir Starmer chances of forming the next Government.
In his main speech at Durham Miners’ Gala this afternoon, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak will highlight the huge pressures working families are facing while those at the top get wealthier.
He will rail against ordinary people experiencing rising food costs with sky high fuel and power prices, while corporate profits soar and bankers claim record bonuses.
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Mr Nowak will say “We are in the middle of the most extreme cost of living crisis in over two centuries – with our pay packets lagging far behind bills, rents and mortgages.
“But not everyone is feeling the pinch. Tory Britain is a country of grotesque extremes.
“Bankers’ bonuses are at record levels, corporate profits are soaring and dividends are outstripping wages.
“That has not happened by accident. It’s what happens when you have a cabinet of millionaires that doesn’t care if wages stagnate.
“That doesn’t care if one in six people in the North East are skipping meals because they literally can’t afford to put food on the table.
“And doesn’t care if tens of thousands of families can’t pay the bills.”
Recent polling by Ipsos shows 47 per cent people saying they would back vote Labour in the next General Election, while just 25 per cent said they would back the Tories.
But while the 137th Big Meeting will emphasise anger at Rishi Sunak over the Government’s handling of the current cost of living crisis, it also expected to highlight shift in policy focus from the Labour Party’s left-wing when Gala favourite Jeremy Corbyn was leader.
This year’s event in Durham City is dedicated to workers taking industrial action and while Keir Starmer has pledged to repeal any new anti-strike laws, he has failed to back striking union members fighting for better pay and conditions on picket lines.
He is not expected to join the banner groups and brass bands on the historic city’s cobbled streets today, but North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll has said the leader should be there ‘to see what unity looks like’.
He said: “Last month I was struck by the jarring irony of returning from a PCS picket line to find an email from the Labour Party, saying I was barred from the longlist of candidates for North East Mayor, despite being incumbent North of Tyne Mayor. No explanation given. No right of appeal. I was just politely blacklisted.
“I am certainly not alone in this treatment.
“In the current Labour leadership’s pursuit of power, it seems the space for debate is being squeezed into an ever-narrower zone of acceptability – not so much an echo chamber as an echo cupboard.
“The strength of a movement is not measured by one opinion poll or one election.
“The party may be striding ahead in the polls today, on the back of the Tory ‘permacrisis’.
“But how far can it get marching on with an ever-shrinking band of yes-men and women?”
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Writing in today’s Northern Echo, Sir Keir described the Gala, which dates back to 1871, as ‘the embodiment of working-class spirit, and a reminder of collective strength’.
He said the Gala, the largest socialist gathering of its kind in Europe, is a celebration ‘of the very best elements of our movement: community, partnership, trade unionism, togetherness, the expectation of a fair return for your work’.
He said: “The UK’s reputation as an economic powerhouse, tarnished, by a sticking plaster government. It’s time for change.
“Britain needs a fresh start.
“Instead of empty slogans and Tory party psychodrama, Britain needs a government that matches their ambition.
“That like hard working Brits, rolls up its sleeves and gets on with tackling the challenges in front of us, head-on, and always in the national interest.
“Because make no mistake, Labour is the party of working people. It is our past, our present and our future. It’s in every fibre of our being.
“We’ll drive change with the same spirit that the Durham Miners showed all those years ago. The spirit of graft, community and togetherness.”
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The only Labour politician due to speak at the Gala is Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South, while the other speakers are union leaders: Fran Heathcote, president of PCS; Sarah Woolley, General Secretary, BFAWU; Sara Bryson, Tyne and Wear Citizens Assembly; and Alan Mardghum, General Secretary, Durham Miners’ Association, which organised the annual event.
Durham City MP Mary Kelly Foy said: “There could not be a timelier moment for trade unionists, and the wider Labour movement, to march through Durham to stand by those workers fighting for a fair deal.
“But it is equally as important to restate the relevance of trade unions and Labour to advancing the quality of life and happiness of people in the North East.”
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