Tomorrow on 11 July, the RCP will be attending this year’s Durham Miners’ Gala, with a large contingent of our 100 members across the North East.
The Gala is the largest trade union event in Europe: up to 200,000 people descend on Durham every year. Such a show of strength could be a great opportunity for the labour movement to take stock, and then go on the offensive.
The impressive turnout at this annual event is a testament to a certain passion and will to fight amongst rank-and-file union members. It is very rare, however, to hear any kind of resolve from trade union and left leaders in attendance.
All talk no action
Typically, the Gala is used as a chance for these leaders to make nice-sounding speeches, devoid of any actual call to action.
Last year, Zarah Sultana had just announced the creation of what became ‘Your Party’. There was a general buzz in anticipation of Corbyn’s speech. But when the time finally came, he did not even mention the new party!
Instead, he made vague appeals about the need for international solidarity and equality, and railed against “nastiness”. All very agreeable – but ultimately a missed opportunity to galvanise; to give direction; to launch something that the huge crowd could join and participate in.
I am honoured to be returning to the Durham Miners Gala this year.
The Gala is a celebration of working-class pride — and we are proud of a movement that is made up of all communities, united in a desire for a more just and peaceful world. pic.twitter.com/hlVPHcA6Zo
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 9, 2025
Similarly, Unite’s Sharon Graham spoke against the genocide in Gaza: pledging that if workers wanted to refuse to handle arms bound for Israel, then Unite would support them.
But this is a classic example of ‘all talk, no action’. Unite should have taken a militant lead, proactively organising their tens (or hundreds) of thousands of members involved in – or linked to – the ‘defence’ industry.
Taking a lead
Quite likely, a key theme of the speeches this year will be the fight against the right. We can expect all sorts of moral condemnations against Farage’s Reform, for example – not least against the scandal-ridden, Reform-led Durham Council itself.
The question is, however: what are the trade union leaders actually doing to challenge Reform, beyond ‘lesser-evilist’ appeals to vote Burnham at the next election?
Why don’t the unions bring out their members – in Reform-led councils – against the cuts and attacks that they are implementing?
Similarly, why don’t they mobilise and organise workers to physically confront the far-right thugs that are terrorising working-class communities?
And why don’t they fight for clear socialist policies – on jobs, conditions, and services – that bring workers together against the real enemy: the bosses, the bankers, and their system?
For anyone who wants more than what these left leaders and trade union chiefs are offering, the RCP will be holding a fringe meeting at 3pm at the Gala about ‘how to fight the right’: discussing the rise of Reform, the crisis of capitalism that pervades our society, the far-right riots, and what practical steps must be taken to fight racism in Britain today.
We will be located on the riverside rails near to the right hand side of the stage. Look out for a red gazebo with a large red umbrella next to it.
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We need a fighting leadership who have the ideas and understanding to say where this crisis has come from; who can explain how we have reached the point of having racist riots in the street; and to truly unite all oppressed and exploited people against our common enemy.
