DURHAM will celebrate its first Miners’ Gala for many years under a Labour government — but Alan Mardghum says the feeling post-election is one of relief rather than excitement.

“People have been absolutely desperate to get rid of the Tories. There will be more hope on the field,” the Durham Miners’ Association general secretary says. But a lot is riding on the new prime minister and government.

“Labour has got one chance to make life better. By God we need them to deliver, or I fear we will end up with an extremely right-wing Conservative government or, worse if that’s possible, a government influenced by Reform UK.

“People need to see an improvement. For example getting a GP appointment, when you ring at 8 o’clock in the morning and you might get through by half past to find out there’s not an appointment available — that’s got to change.

“All this privatisation of dentistry so you can’t get an NHS dentist needs to change, the situation with schools.

“They can find the money. The country’s awash with money, and the myth needs to be busted that there isn’t the money to do these things.

“Rather than what’s supposed to be our government saying it looks up to people like Thatcher, they should take inspiration from the 1945 Labour government when, following the second world war, the country was absolutely bankrupt — but they created the NHS, they created a National Insurance system that put people back to work to rebuild the country, they nationalised key utilities and industries.

“And it worked. If we could do it then, why can’t we do it now? 

“I’ve got no issue with them borrowing money to invest. That will pay itself back in time, through more people in work, more people paying tax.” Still, the need to borrow would be reduced if the government just taxed the rich: “Tax the wealthy and close the loopholes that allow them to whisk billions into their offshore accounts. God knows how much money is in them.”

Labour needs to do what it takes to ensure people feel a tangible difference quickly — “otherwise I fear the worst.

“Labour didn’t win this election. The Tories lost it.

“And Reform UK were clearly a massive part of that — they took votes from Labour as well, but they took a significant amount of votes from the Tories.

“I’m interested in politics, I watched the debates, and was totally underwhelmed. And I listen to people talking about it — people who are not political.

“The frightening thing is, there is support among working people for the ‘turn the boats back’ narrative — people have bought into that.

“It’s absolutely crazy. It’s not people in small boats fleeing war and famine and risking everything to get to a safe haven who are my enemies. It’s not their fault. They haven’t caused austerity, or the decline in the National Health Service.

“It’s the multimillionaires in the big boats, who don’t pay their tax. But the message is hard to get across to some people, they fall for it because they hear the ‘immigration, immigration, immigration’ panic all the time.

“It’s always the people at the bottom of the pile who get blamed for the ills of the country. Of course we need a fair immigration system. But Reform? You saw that leaked statement from a Reform UK supporter saying just send the gunboats out and shoot them.

“That’s absolutely vile. Reprehensible. It’s frightening and I believe if the Labour government doesn’t deliver for working people that will become more prevalent.”

There are things Labour could do right away to show things have changed, including some close to the hearts of the hundreds of thousands gathering in Durham this weekend in the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike.

One is to make good on its promise of an inquiry into the police riot at Orgreave, where officers corralled pickets into a field and then charged into them on horseback, battering them with truncheons. Many of the victims would subsequently have been jailed for rioting — potentially for life — had their prosecution not collapsed because of evidence police statements had been doctored.

Mardghum wants to find out “who gave the orders, and who did they give the orders to,” he tells the Morning Star. “And if senior politicians and police officers are found out, there should be prosecutions.” 

Papers relating to Orgreave currently remain classified until 2066, by which point everyone involved will be dead, an unacceptable injustice. “We’ve got lads who lost their jobs as a result, their pensions suffered, they’ve lived on less ever since.

“Those who gave the instructions got very nice pensions. Not one police officer has been held accountable.”

Labour has also promised to review the mineworkers’ pension scheme, from which billions has been extracted by governments over the years, another pledge Mardghum wants to see honoured quickly. Nor, with the Gala this year stressing the importance of international solidarity, does he think Labour can keep supporting Israel’s war on the Palestinians with impunity.

The consequences if Labour doesn’t make a difference are grim, so he stresses that trade unionists “shouldn’t be frightened to criticise.

“We were prepared to criticise a Conservative government, and if we think Labour are doing things wrong, for the unions, or for the working class in general, we shouldn’t be afraid to say so.”

That includes taking action as readily when workers are attacked as the unions did under the Conservatives.

“Our theme is Solidarity Forever and that means with everyone — refuse collectors, bus workers, junior doctors, teachers, doesn’t matter, we all need to support workers on strike.

“People don’t do it lightly, there is a financial penalty when you go on strike.” Mardghum points out that divisions in the working class were key to Thatcher’s victory over the miners 40 years ago, that set Britain on the disastrous economic course we have been on ever since.

Though the Gala will certainly celebrate the heroism of the mining communities, and be addressed by Heather Wood of Women Against Pit Closures, Mardghum has “never subscribed to the argument that it wasn’t a defeat, the victory was taking part.

“I didn’t strike for 12 months to come second and be proud of having been on a picket line for 12 months, we lost that strike, and once we did, we paid the price. The Establishment made sure we paid the price. It was a warning to the whole working class.

“Hopefully, this anniversary can be a turning point, a change for the better.” But that will take solidarity, and above all, a stronger trade union movement. A unions marquee will be on the field, with different unions on help desks, with appeals planned from the platform for anyone not in a union — the Gala brings out the whole city and working-class families for miles around, not just trade unionists — to give it a visit and find out which union they should join.

On Gala day, his message is to come along, listen to the bands and the speeches and have a great time.

“And I hope when I’m talking to you ahead of next year’s Gala, we can point to some positive changes from a Labour government, and a country on the mend.”