Gala Today
No deep mines remain in the Durham Coalfield, down from the over hundred that were present at the coalfield's peak. Despite this, the Gala continues to be organised.
The 122nd Gala, held in 2006, attracted over 50,000 people, and approximately 100,000 attended in 2009, making it one of the biggest political gatherings in Europe. During the morning banners are still marched to the racecourse with its tradition of speeches (recent notable speakers have included Tony Benn, Billy Bragg and Ken Livingstone) then in the afternoon to the cathedral.
In 2012 Labour Party leader Ed Miliband addressed the 128th Gala; he was the first Labour Party leader to speak at the Gala for 23 years, the last one being Neil Kinnock in 1989. He praised the event as a "a great North East tradition" and attacked the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, saying it had "lost a generation of young people". There were several criticisms however, such as protesters that were removed by the police force, and also 14 year old Isaac Duffy, who's video of him questioning and being ignored by Ed Miliband recently went viral.
Read more about this topic: Durham Miners' Gala
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