General view of the Cammell Laird ship yard on the River Mersey in Liverpool, April 2001
SURVIVING members of the largest group ever jailed for union activity have vowed to continue their fight for justice – despite growing disillusionment with Labour.
GMB general secretary Gary Smith, Ian Byrne MP and Chris Pearce of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign addressed the former Cammell Laird shipyard workers, including leading campaigner Eddie Marnell, at a Labour conference fringe event on Monday night.
This year marks 40 years since workers occupied the Birkenhead shipyard in Merseyside in a bid to save their jobs at the site.
Apart from a bright spark of hope in the victory of the Gaza motion, this year’s conference lacked vision and purpose — we need to urgently reconnect Labour with its roots rather than weakly aping the flag-waving right, argues KIM JOHNSON MP
KIM JOHNSON MP places the campaign in the context of the history of the working-class battles of the 1980s, and explains why, just like Orgreave and the Shrewsbury Pickets before it, justice today is so important for the struggles of tomorrow
The Home Secretary’s recent letter suggests the Labour government may finally deliver on its nine-year manifesto commitment, writes KATE FLANNERY, but we must move quickly: as recently as 2024 Northumbria police destroyed miners’ strike documents
