By Linda Wall?
“The Durham Miners’ Gala is a highlight of the year. Great to catch up with fellow socialists and trade union unionists and take in the tunes of the brass bands, the splendour of the banners and the comradely atmosphere. This ‘big meeting’ always lifts the spirits and reminds us of the good things that can be achieved when working class people unite and stand together.” – Eric Barnes
This Saturday, 11th July, tens of thousands of trade unionists will descend on Durham for the 140th Miners’ Gala. This year they’ve even got a purpose-made anthem: We Are Still Here. Cynics may say you are here, but are you still relevant ? The pits have all closed, and Durham County Council is now controlled by Reform UK. It’s a serious question – and one that we ignore at our peril.
The Big Meeting, and that other great Durham institution, Redhills, are monuments to working class unity and solidarity. The first Gala in 1871 was a celebration of victory in the Durham Miners’ Association’s struggle against The Bond. The great miners hall at Redhills was paid for by the subscriptions of thousands of Durham miners. It was designed in grand style, its interior decked out in marble and shiny wood panelling, with statues of miners leaders outside, sending out a message to the employers that working class organisation was here to stay. Inside Redhills, the “Pitman’s Parliament”: a 300 seat Council Chamber, one seat for every Durham colliery lodge.
The story of Durham though is also littered with tales of political struggle: schisms between rank and file strikers and the moderate DMA leadership; lodges trying to push the leadership to the left; battles in the 1900s to get the DMA to drop its Liberal links and throw its weight fully behind the Labour Party. In 1908, affiliation to Labour was rightly celebrated as a great achievement. In 2026, the terms of political debate are very different. Earlier this year, DMA Secretary Alan Mardghum warned that “The electorate of Gorton and Denton have sent a very clear message to the Labour Party and Sir Keir Starmer’s government. They don’t want an MP whose party political agenda does nothing to ease the pain and suffering of working class people… The Labour Party and Government urgently need to change course or face electoral annihilation.”
Before the welfare state was born, the DMA catered for miners families’ every needs; providing medical care, libraries, welfare, sports grounds and retirement homes. It’s immensely proud of this heritage. As it ponders how to combat Reform, the labour movement can learn much from the history of the DMA. We as socialists also have a role to play, making the argument that Labour can no longer be reformed, and that it’s time for trade unions to look towards political parties that can be trusted to fight for the interests of working people.
If you’re planning to go to the Gala this year, please be sure to tell us about the conversations that you have there.
Find out more about the gala:
Friends of Durham Miners’ Gala website
Durham Miners’ Gala Facebook page
(Previously published in Connections Newsletter issue no. 5)
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