Jarrow March recognised in Parliament

Jarrow MP Stephen Hepburn has tabled a Motion in Parliament to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the inspirational Jarrow Crusade.
Stephen HepburnStephen Hepburn
Stephen Hepburn

The Jarrow MP praised the 200 marchers who set off for London on 5th October 1936 to highlight the grim reality of life without work and growing poverty in the region.

It was a desperate demonstration by a devastated community. The town had already been hit hard during the Great Depression but when the Government’s agent the National Shipbuilding Industry Securities closed Palmers Shipyard a staggering 70 per cent of Jarrow men were left unemployed.

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The Jarrow MP’s move follows the recent announcement that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will be a guest speaker in Jarrow next month to commemorate the special anniversary of the historic event.

Mr Hepburn MP said: “I’m delighted that Jeremy Corbyn will be coming to Jarrow on this very special anniversary of this iconic event.

“The 1936 Jarrow Crusade instilled a great sense of pride and togetherness which remains in our town today.

“Permanent reminders of the Crusaders who marched into history are still littered across the town. As a Jarra lad born and bred, I will always remain proud of the marchers who for a few weeks in the autumn of 1936 stirred the conscience of a nation which had previously chosen to ignore the grim reality of life in the North East.

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“These were proud men who trekked all the way to London with great dignity, and no little hardship, to ask for jobs, not charity.

“The Jarrow March put the town on the world stage and that is something we can be rightly proud of.”