FIFTEENTH ESSEX CONFERENCE ON LABOUR HISTORY

FIFTEENTH ESSEX CONFERENCE ON LABOUR HISTORY

The Fifteenth Essex Conference on Labour History, jointly sponsored and organised by Labour Heritage and the Essex Labour Campaign Forum will take place at The Labour Hall, Collingwood Road, Witham, CM8 2EE, (adjacent to Witham railway station), from 10.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, 29th October, 2016.

The topics on the agenda include the historical role of Aneurin Bevan, relations with Ireland, the Poplar rates dispute and the life of a Labour activist in Essex.

The Conference is completely open and friends, relatives and acquaintances are welcome, whatever their political allegiances.  Questions and other contributions will be invited from the floor, lunch will be provided by the Essex Labour Campaign Forum and the cost is included in the registration fee.

The registration fee is £8 per person (cheques payable to the Essex County Labour Party).  Those not previously registered can pay at the door, provided there are places, but pre-booking is advisable – particularly for catering purposes.

CHARLES COCHRANE, Chair – Essex Labour Campaign Forum

STAN NEWENS, Chair – Labour Heritage. For details contact Stan on this e-mail address

Registration fee: £8.00 per person

PROGRAMME

10.30 – 11.00 a.m.    Conference assembles (tea and coffee will be provided)
11.00 – 11.10 a.m.    Chair’s opening remarks – Charles Cochrane, Chair, Essex Labour Campaign Forum
11.10 – 12.05 p.m.    The Left in the mid-20th Century and the Role of Aneurin Bevan
Francis Beckett (Labour historian and author)
12.05 – 1.00 p.m.    Ireland – the 1916 Rising and Social Progress
Ivan Gibbons (former Director of Irish Studies at St. Mary’s University Twickenham, and Director of the Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith)
1.00 – 2.00 p.m.    Lunch, arranged by the Essex Labour Campaign Forum.
2.00 – 2.45 p.m.    George Lansbury and the 1921 Poplar Rates Dispute
Chris Sumner (George Lansbury Memorial Trust)
2.45 – 3.30 p.m.    A Life in the Labour Movement
Stan Newens (former MP, MEP and Labour historian)
3.30 – 3.55 p.m.    Discussion and suggestions
3.55 – 4.00 p.m.    Conclusion of the Conference