Skip to main content
Cammell Laird 37 vow to fight amid Labour disillusionment
General view of the Cammell Laird ship yard on the River Mersey in Liverpool, April 2001

SURVIVING members of the largest group ever jailed for union activity have vowed to continue their fight for justice – despite growing disillusionment with Labour.

GMB general secretary Gary Smith, Ian Byrne MP and Chris Pearce of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign addressed the former Cammell Laird shipyard workers, including leading campaigner Eddie Marnell, at a Labour conference fringe event on Monday night.

This year marks 40 years since workers occupied the Birkenhead shipyard in Merseyside in a bid to save their jobs at the site. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Britain / 17 April 2025
17 April 2025
By Berny Torre in Harrogate
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede
Britain / 17 April 2025
17 April 2025
By Berny Torre in Harrogate
NEU Conference 2025 / 17 April 2025
17 April 2025
Similar stories
Labour Conference 2024 / 23 September 2024
23 September 2024
MICK WHITLEY recounts the 1984 shipyard occupation that led to Britain’s largest jailing of trade unionists and urges Labour to address this historic injustice 40 years on
Crew members from RFA Tideforce in Cammel Lairds, Birkenhead
Britain / 1 August 2024
1 August 2024
Books / 26 July 2024
26 July 2024
MIKE SQUIRES recommends a rare history of the Communist Party in Liverpool
Workers outside Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead
Britain / 25 June 2024
25 June 2024