Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival - in photos

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham joined thousands of trade union members at the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival in Dorset this weekend (July 19-21).

On the final day of the festival (July 21), Sharon gave a barnstorming speech paying tribute to the Martyrs, their successors — Unite’s agricultural workers — as well as the Martyrs’ descendants, linking their cause to workers’ modern-day struggles. She also took part in the annual wreath-laying to honour the Martyrs and attended Unite’s packed marquee.

In her speech, Sharon noted to thunderous applause, “The rebirth of a trade union movement is truly in hand — an industrial base fit for working class politics, a politics of struggle, a politics of hope. And as we think of the sacrifice that the Martyrs made, we remember the old truth: that victory is the struggle; the struggle is the victory. For that is our conviction; that is a change worth fighting for.”

You can view highlights from Sharon’s visit at the festival in photos below. You can read a full report of Unite at Tolpuddle here. Stay tuned for a film of Sharon’s speech in full.

Photos by Mark Thomas