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Clampdown on freedom of speech and assembly should concern us all
Draconian new anti-working-class laws mean events like the gala need to be vigorously defended, writes IAN LAVERY MP
Dylan Clarkson, 6, parades through Durham during the Durham Miners' Gala, in July 2019

MAY I begin by saying I am thrilled to once again be at the Durham Miners’ Gala, a highlight of the year that only keeps going from strength to strength. 

Over the years the gala has taken on a powerful role in bringing together our movement to celebrate its proud working-class industrial heritage, reaffirm our spirit of solidarity and camaraderie, and to inspire the next generation to carry on the good fight. 

Watching and absorbing the rituals and traditions of the brass bands, lodge banners, and political speeches serve to remind us that we belong to a movement bigger than ourselves, that we are the torch-bearers of a history of working-class solidarity and resistance in this country and internationally that goes back centuries, in which I am proud to play my part. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
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