War on Want at Tolpuddle 2011
16 July 2011
War on Want joined thousands of trade unionists on Sunday 17 July at a festival that is growing in numbers every year. This year, there seemed to be a real sense that we are all in this together, but not in the way that George Osborne means. We mean that as the cuts start to bite, ordinary working people are expressing solidarity with ordinary working people here in the UK, but also across the developing world.
Speaking to the crowd, Unite general secretary Len McClusky said: “This rally represents all that is good about our movement. These are building blocks for a better world because everyone benefits from strong trade unions.”
War on Want President, Rodney Bickerstaffe applauded the work of War on Want for keeping the workers at the bottom of supply chains feeding our supermarkets on the agenda. He went on to say “In the time of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, there was a different class that looked after themselves. They are still here today – the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, Nero and Caligula, Bonnie and Clyde, however you refer to them.
“Their big society is all smoke and mirrors because they siphon off the wealth for themselves and their friends while leaving charities to look after the rest, just as charities looked after peasants in mediaeval times.”
Tony Benn received a standing ovation when he took the stage, saying:
“The Tolpuddle Martyrs said ‘We will, we will, we will be free’. He encouraged people to become involved in their trade unions and their communities, he urged: “Pessimism is our worst enemy. If we reject the pessimism, as the Tolpuddle Martyrs did, then we will win. Their spirit is alive today. Good luck!”
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