Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joins RMT secretary Mick Lynch at Burston Strike School Rally
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn made a surprise appearance at a trade union rally in Burston last week.
He joined RMT general secretary Mick Lynch in speaking to close to 3,000 people at the Burston Strike School Rally on Sunday, September 4
The annual rally marks the longest-running strike in British history, which saw parents pull their children from the village’s Church of England school following what they believed to be the unfair dismissal of two teachers, Tom and Annie Higdon.
In 1914, the Higdons were struck off on the grounds of pupil abuse, which many believed was a smokescreen for the couple’s trade union views and opposition to child labour. The pair set up their own school, the Burston Strike School, which children in the village attended for the next 25 years.
On Sunday, outside the Higdons’ school in Diss Road, which now serves as a museum to the strike, Mr Corbyn remarked on its significance in Britain’s long history of industrial action.
“Burston is very special in the history of our movement,” he said. “It’s celebrating the way in which children understood the class struggle, when school was under threat by the Tories on the county council, when landowners suddenly saw children as child labourers, when the Higdons saw them as brilliant kids with intellect, hope and enthusiasm.
“That is what we want to give our kids the opportunity to dream, to learn, to write music, to paint art, to write poetry and, above all, to achieve the best they can in their lives.
“But what Burston also celebrates, and this is important to understand, is that we are often told that the Labour movement is an urban creation of the industrial revolution, when this is absolutely not the case; our origins as a movement go back to the struggles of rural Britain.”
Less than 24 hours before Liz Truss was announced as Prime Minister, Mr Corbyn rallied attendants to pile the pressure on Downing Street’s latest occupant to put all major utilities into public hands.
“Lets get the identification correct, it’s not a cost-of-living crisis, it’s a cost-of-greed crisis that we’re in,” he said.
“So, when Liz Truss takes over, don’t give her 30 seconds to think about it; go straight in there, demanding public ownership of the crucial utilities in this country and demanding social justice.”
Organiser Miles Hubbard was as surprised as anyone to learn that the former leader of the opposition would be making a speech.
“We didn’t know he would be speaking until he turned up and, of course, we gave him a spot,” said Mr Hubbard, who works as the regional official at Unite the Union.
“It was the first rally in three years due to Covid and it was significant because we spent a lot of money renovating the school. All in all, we got some great speakers.”
Mike Copperwheat, a former trustee at Burston Strike School, said current events had given the event added importance.
“It was a very good feeling at the rally, and there appeared to be support from local people who all came out to enjoy the spectacle,” said Mr Copperwheat, who lives in Gissing.
“But I think there was more of an emphasis this time. Last time, in 2019, there was hope because an election was coming up – it was much more like a call to action this time. People felt as if they wanted to act.”
Refreshments at the event were provided by the parent teacher association at Burston Primary School, in Crown Green, which raised more than £3,000 for the school.
“It was like an industrial operation,” said headteacher Debbie Ridgeon. “We had all sorts of cake, sandwiches, bacon rolls ... we tried to cater for every need.
“We have a wonderful association, who worked really hard and it had taken them quite a long time to get this ready.
“The money will go a long way for us. We want the children to have experiences so parents don’t have to pay so much in the current climate.”
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