A CELEBRATION to mark the cancelled Durham Miners’ Gala today will lead with a warning — that the threat of a Thatcher-style “managed decline” of northern communities is very real.

Labour Party deputy leader Angela Rayner will call for “workers’ unity” at the live online event, which has been organised by Durham Miners’ Association (DMA).

The virtual event is taking place in lieu of the association’s annual Durham gathering, a spectacular annual gala which attracts 200,000 people to the northern city.

DMA secretary Alan Mardghum made an appeal yesterday urging people not to descend on the city.

Ms Rayner, who represents the Greater Manchester constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne, will highlight the “human cost” of mass unemployment in northern communities under previous Conservative governments.

“Analysis from the Resolution Foundation this week found that the Chancellor’s stamp duty holiday for properties up to £500,000 will not benefit the average homebuyer in the north-east, while the average buyer in London will save over £14,000,” she will say.

“The north-south divide is continuing to grow, and we cannot afford for the economic impact of coronavirus to increase this gap even more.

“The Tories talk a good game on this issue but their record of turning their backs on the north speaks for itself.”

Labour says the government should focus on protecting and creating jobs in the aftermath of the virus.

And Ms Rayner will warn against a return to mass unemployment last seen in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher.

“Our mining communities know about the human cost of mass unemployment. 

“We know how it feels to be abandoned by a Tory government and for entire generations to be consigned to what the Thatcher government called ‘managed decline’.” 

Ms Rayner, who was a care worker and trade union official in the north-west before becoming an MP, will say that the coronavirus crisis has “shown the power of workers when we stand together,” calling on workers nationwide to unite in the face of the economic impact of coronavirus.

“This crisis has shown the power of workers when we stand together united, and shown the importance of trade unions fighting to protect jobs and wages and defend workers’ rights. 

“Together we are strong. And in the months ahead we will need our collective strength as we fight to make sure that every worker is safe at work, protect our communities and make sure the most vulnerable in our society don’t bear the burden of the economic impact of coronavirus.” 

Highlighting the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on female workers and workers from black, asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, she will say: “Four in five key workers in health and social care are women. When we talk about the lack of PPE and low pay in the care sector then that is an issue that disproportionately affects women.

“Female workers and workers from BAME backgrounds are more likely to be key workers on the front line, and coronavirus is having a shockingly disproportionate impact on black Britons in particular.

“So fighting for our class means standing up for the working class in all its diversity.”

For more than a century, the Gala was funded by the working miners of the Durham coalfield. 

Following the closure of the collieries, the Friends of Durham Miners’ Gala was established to ensure its survival. 

Those who contribute through subscription are known as “Marra,” a Durham miners’ term for a workmate or friend who can be relied upon in times of need.

Join the Marras here: Become a Marra — Join Friends of Durham Miners’ Gala