A California union’s decision to host a meeting about US policy towards Cuba has prompted a congressional probe and renewed attacks on international solidarity, writes CAMERON HARRISON
IN 1984 the traditional Gala celebrations were replaced by a demonstration as part of cost-cutting measures brought in by the Durham Miners’ Association.
The demonstration took place in what was described in the local press as siege city. Bars kept their doors closed and shops were boarded shut awaiting trouble which never materialised. In fact, the three arrests made were fewer than usual.
Forty years later Durham is buzzing, the pubs crammed to the rafters and the shops doing a brisk trade.
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
IAN LAVERY MP warns that decades of neoliberal policies have left former industrial communities behind — but a renewed Labour commitment to working people could change the political landscape
The Durham Miners’ Gala is a celebration of working-class culture, but also a call to action — to rebuild workers’ collective strength, says KIM JOHNSON MP
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



