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Speaking at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival in Dorset later today (Sunday), TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady will say that the publication of the Lobbying Bill this week and its targeting of unions and the ordinary people they represent shows that the same spirit that tried to silence the Tolpuddle Six 179 years ago is still very much alive today.

date: 20 July 2013

embargo: 00.01hrs Sunday 21 July 2013

Speaking at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival in Dorset later today (Sunday), TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady will say that the publication of the Lobbying Bill this week and its targeting of unions and the ordinary people they represent shows that the same spirit that tried to silence the Tolpuddle Six 179 years ago is still very much alive today.

Frances will say: 'The spirit of the Tolpuddle Martyrs is alive and well. But this week's publication of the Lobbying Bill proves that the spirit of the Squire is too.

'Squire James Frampton was a landowner who feared that trade unionism threatened the power base of the wealthy classes and called on the full might of the law to quash it.

'By 1834 forming a trade union was no longer illegal. But Frampton cited an obscure law prohibiting the swearing of oaths to secure the arrest, prosecution and transportation of six agricultural workers from Dorset. The real reason for their victimisation, of course, was that those brave land workers had dared to organise against pay cuts.

'The Squire would have approved of the government's Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trades Union Administration Bill, published this week.

'A more honest title for it would surely be the Protection of Rich Conservative Party Donors and Gratuitous Attack on Trade Unions Bill. It offers a master class in protecting the wealthy and punishing organised labour.

'The Bill contains so many loopholes it reads like a cheats' charter. It will require third-party lobbyist firms to publish client lists but not if they 'only' hold meetings with government special advisers and middle-ranking civil servants, and not if lobbying is deemed to make up a small part of the business.

'But more importantly, the new Bill won't touch wealthy corporations as long as they directly employ lobbyists.

'Despite his links with the tobacco industry and the current controversy over the government's handling of cigarette packaging, the Conservative Party strategist, Lynton Crosby, will suffer few sleepless nights.

'The biggest source of public concern, the growing grip that rich and powerful individuals and corporations hold over policy making and politicians, has been ignored entirely in the Bill. Conservative Party donors Adrian Beecroft, John Nash and Circle Health shareholders can all sleep easy too.

'Instead, the government has cynically turned its fire on the largest democratic membership movement in the country - trade unions. Unions will be required to 'visibly demonstrate' that they 'know who their members are and can communicate with them'.

'Unions already have to produce annual audits of membership. But despite being the most heavily regulated voluntary organisations in the country, we can expect yet more regulation to come our way.

'The Bill will be debated on the floor of the House during Congress week when the unions are away in Bournemouth. As some on the Conservative backbenches bay for more red blood, watch out for how calls for tougher membership record requirements turn into demands for more stringent requirements on industrial action balloting.

'Labour leader Ed Miliband dubbed David Cameron the minister for 'Benson and Hedge funds' - a reminder of where the real dirt in politics lies. And from the bedroom tax to the refusal to cap bankers' bonuses, the ascendency of the Conservative Party's Thatcherite tendency may yet prove to be its ultimate downfall.

'This latest attack on shop workers, teachers, nurses, postal staff and factory workers, and their unions, offends the British people's sense of fair play.

'If history offers a guide to the future then the government's Bill is a major political blunder. In the battle for the public's hearts and minds, the Tolpuddle trade unionists won the day with massive meetings, petitions and demonstrations forcing the Martyrs' return after their deportation overseas.

'Here in Tolpuddle we celebrate six courageous workers who stood together against the Squire, and at the same time send a strong message to the government that this generation of working people are just as determined to defend our democratic unions.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival runs from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 July. Speakers include Tony Benn, shadow justice minister Sadiq Khan MP, shadow transport minister Maria Eagle MP, actor Maxine Peake, Frances O'Grady, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, authors Melissa Benn and Michael Rosen, and the general secretaries of four unions.

- Billy Bragg makes a welcome return to the main stage on Sunday, with ska band The Skints headlining on Saturday night and roots reggae veterans Talisman on Friday. There is a children's area with events scheduled to take place throughout the weekend.

- More details are available at www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk

or on Twitter @TolpuddleFest

-South West TUC Regional Secretary Nigel Costley is available for interview on 07887 797 153

- Congress 2013 will be held at the Bournemouth International Centre from Sunday 8 September to Wednesday 11 September. Free media passes can be obtained by visiting www.tuc.org.uk/media_credentials and completing an online form. Applications must be in by noon on Wednesday 28 August. Any received later than that will be processed in Bournemouth and will cost £75.

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Media enquiries:
Alex Rossiter T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07887 572130 E: arossiter@tuc.org.uk

Tim Lezard, SWTUC M: 07810 641459

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