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SWTUC: comradeship and class struggle at Croyde Bay
Delegates gathered to confront a broad range of issues from declining membership and a rising far-right threat to devolution and fighting union-busting giants like Amazon, reports GARETH LOWE

AS is the case every year, the 2025 TUC South West (SWTUC) annual conference agenda was packed. Delegates from trade unions and trades councils from across the region gathered in Croyde, north Devon.

For many delegates, arriving the evening before conference, Thursday night was as busy as the days that followed, with a comradely atmosphere hanging over the picturesque bay as old acquaintances were renewed and new allegiances formed.

The Friday plenary session saw SWTUC regional secretary Ines Lage open conference with a resumé of the year prior and a look to the future. We heard how the TUC is “still holding the government’s feet to the fire” over strengthening trade union rights and repealing minimum service levels anti-strike legislation.

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