#Tolpuddle13 This year’s Tolpuddle Festival got off to a rousing start last night with a Campaign for Trade Union Freedom rally at Tolpuddle Village Hall. Speakers included Professor Keith Ewing who outlined the severe threat to trade union political involvement posed by the new Lobbying Bill. Today former UNISON General Secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe will be speaking in the Unizone and this morning Assistant General Secretary Roger McKenzie will discuss the legacy of Martin Luther King in a debate at the Martyrs' Marquee:
http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/index.php?page=programme
UNISON's Samba dance band went down a storm on the parade in Tolpuddle yesterday, as thousands of trade unionists gathered at the three day festival to commemmorate the Tolpuddle Martyrs who were transported to Australia in 1834 for 'administering an unlawful oath'.
The 77th Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival opened at the weekend with its usual mix of politics, music, comedy and drama, blended with solidarity and diversity. After a rain-lashed start, Saturday morning opened with a UNISON sponsored debate on the NHS with John Healey, Roger McKenzie speaking, chaired by Joanne Kaye, UNISON South West Regional Secretary.
