Alan Campbell MP column: 90th Anniversary of the Jarrow March

I was honoured to speak at a commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Jarrow March on the return to the region of an important exhibition.  The history of the march is well known.

The closure of the Palmer’s shipyard in 1934 sent unemployment in Jarrow above 50%. Two years later, 200 marchers carried a twelve thousand name petition drawing attention to the plight of the town and to ask the government of the day to help. They were heard politely, but then sent home with no assurances - leaving the marchers believing their trek had been in vain.  

In the short term that was true, but in time the Jarrow March took on greater significance. The sight of the marchers was a call to the conscience of the middle class who concerned about returning to the 1930’s, voted in the post-war Labour Government.

That Government laid a new direction for our country and helped determine the life chances of people like me. And decades later, in 2024, there was a similar determination to move on from the chaos and waste of the previous 14 years. 

The Jarrow March was at heart about work – an economic cause but also a moral cause. We may not face unemployment at those levels, but a million young people out of work or training is a moral challenge.

And finally, if decision making and resources had been devolved then perhaps Jarrow’s fate would have been different. We don’t live in the past, but if we don’t learn the lessons of the past we risk having to relive it.