IN THE labour movement calendar, August is often seen as a quiet month.Of course as Henry Mayhew had it, in his study of Victorian London costermongers, when it seems quiet, preparations are going on for future activity. However, these days by August the trade-union conferences are completed and the annual festivals, the Durham Miners’ Gala and Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival, have also been and gone.

It may have become a traditional month for holidays, but episodes from early British labour movement history show that class struggle never takes time off, argues KEITH FLETT

From Morning Star via This RSS Feed.