Skip to main content
Gifts from The Morning Star
Labour and the unions need each other. Now is the time for solidarity
The party must stand proudly on the side of ordinary people and those struggling for both a decent standard of living and public services for all, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP

THERE were many memorable moments of the great miners’ strike of 1984-85. One of them I seem to recall (I am sure a reader or two will correct me) is Ron Todd, leader of what was the Transport and General Workers’ Union, trying to speak from the floor in the debate on the strike at the Labour Party conference. 

But the chair was initially refusing to call him until the outcry from the conference forced him to change his mind. 

Before that happened, a friend turned to me and said: “This is bloody ridiculous. He pays for the thing,” or more industrial words to that effect.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Reform party leader Nigel Farage takes part in media interviews after holding a news conference in central London, August 4, 2025
Features / 23 August 2025
23 August 2025

Every Starmer boast about removing asylum-seekers probably wins Reform another seat while Labour loses more voters to Lib Dems, Greens and nationalists than to the far right — the disaster facing Labour is the leadership’s fault, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer listens to a question from the press, after making a statement in Downing Street, London, July 29, 2025
Neoliberalism / 31 July 2025
31 July 2025

Deep disillusionment with the Westminster cross-party consensus means rupture with the status quo is on the cards – bringing not only opportunities but also dangers, says NICK WRIGHT

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking during a press conference on the Immigration White Paper, May 12, 2025
Politics / 31 May 2025
31 May 2025

DIANE ABBOTT MP argues that Labour’s proposals contained in the recent white paper won’t actually bring down immigration numbers or win support from Reform voters — but they will succeed in making politics more nasty and poisonous 
 

Features / 19 April 2025
19 April 2025
British Steel has vindicated what the left has said all along — nationalisation of our key industries is common sense, and it’s the neoliberals who are now clearly the ideologically driven zealots, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP