TUC president and POA leader STEVE GILLAN speaks to Ben Chacko on the eve of Congress 2026
“I CAN’T understand why anyone wouldn’t be in a union, but I was brought up in a culture of trade unionism. Kids today are not. You’ve got zero-hour contracts, you’ve got workplaces that are not the same as they used to be in the pits or the shipyards, where industrial communities used to socialise together.
“We need to get back to the grassroots and explain why we’re stronger together. If you’re not in a union, join a union — rise up!”
Rise up is a very appropriate theme for this weekend’s Durham Miners’ Gala, which barring world wars and pandemics, has hit the streets of the city in England’s north-east every 12 months for more than 150 years.
Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners co-founder MIKE JACKSON talks to Matt Kerr about the enduring power of Pride, protest and trade unionism
Durham Miners’ Association chair STEPHEN GUY speaks to Ben Chacko about the Reform threat, what’s needed from Labour and why the Big Meeting will never lose its politics
Durham Miners’ Association general secretary ALAN MARDGHUM speaks to Ben Chacko about the PM-in-waiting, the threat of Reform and the radical change of direction this country needs


