Silk Mill March and Rally 2015

Yesterday was the annual march and rally in the city centre to commemorate the 1834 Silk Mill lockout, a bitter industrial struggle which marks both one of the first strikes of the industrial age and the beginnings of what would become the trades union movement. It is recorded on a plaque at the Silk Mill museum, where every year the wreath is laid, and in a mural on the side of the Silk Mill pub. The Trades Council has recently published a book on working class history in Derby, in which the struggle is featured, and there was a film on at the QUAD in the afternoon all about the lockout.

 It's a big day for the left in the city, and trades unionists, political parties and activists were all out for the day. There were some good placards,

and a good crowd turned out ahead of the march

and we had a fairly prominent stall!

It wouldn't be a march without Socialist Worker placards, no matter what changes the weather went through in the space of a few minutes (bright sunshine, torrential downpour, sullen clemency, if you were wondering).

After the wreath-laying and march we had some speeches from trades unions including the FBU, Joginder Bains of the Indian Workers' Association, the TUC, the People's Assembly and Labour politicians including Derby North MP Chris Williamson and Council Leader Ranjit Banwait.

And after a bit of political theatre from the anti-TTIP campaign, the band led us in cheerful if fairly ragged renditions of wonderful workers' hymn to the struggle The Internationale, and boring old Labour dirge The Red Flag (views as to the merits of the Internationale and the Red Flag reflect the personal opinions of the author, and are not necessarily those of the SWP as a whole. Although clearly they should be. ;) ). All in all, a good day out for every worker and their family, and a good opportunity to raise the cause of anti-austerity, anti-TTIP politics!