Friday 17 July
14:00 – 17:00 Dick Muskett Sessions
17:15 – 18:00 DEBATE: Establishing roots of resistance
In our Festival’s starter-for-ten session, we hear about the TUC’s Organising strategy for growth as numbers tick up but workers’ needs soar. And we bring in voices from the South West’s Young Organisers Network to share their roots of organising and how the fledgling network is rooting down and growing up into a collective of young active trade unionists. We also launch Tolpuddle’s Organising School, a programme that recognises how all of us have a story to share, lessons to learn, and experiences to build on. Learning to resist oppression and building power through solidarity is at the very core of our movement, So join us as we kick start the festival, in the place where it all began.
With Sian Elliott (TUC), Jo Hale (Young Organisers’ Network), Caio Whitmore (Young Organisers’ Network)
Saturday 18 July
10:00 – 11:15 Beyond the Pay Claim: An All-women panel on how unions can build worker and people power
The Tolpuddle Martyrs are remembered for their fight for fair wages, but their story was part of a much bigger struggle: the struggle for dignity, true democracy for all, and the power of workers to organise collectively and in unity.
Because of their campaign, and the lessons learned from that success, trade unions remain one of the most powerful forces for bringing about change, in the workplaces, across sectors, but also too communities and people’s lives.
As public services face cuts, minoritised people being targeted by hostile policies, and communities confront rising inequality and division, trade unions continue to be at the heart of resistance and renewal.
So, in this all women panel of leading voices from across the movement we discuss how unions can be effect levers that build worker and people power, defend fundamental rights, and shape a fairer society far beyond the bargaining table.
With Hannah David (TUC SW Chair / PCS), Kate Osborne MP, Fran Heathcote (PCS General Secretary), Jo Seery (Thompsons Solicitors), Sian Elliott (TUC)
11:30 – 12:30 Unity Works: fighting hate by building solidarity
How we organise effectively against the far right has never been more important than it is today. Trade unionists have always faced those who seek to divide working people against one another. In 2026, that threat continues to grow at pace. Far right, populist right operators are deliberately exploiting workers’ insecurity, targetting migrants and Black and Brown families in this country, spreading disinformation, sparking riots and leading protests fuelled by hate, which only serve to sew and deepen divisions in workplaces and communities. So how do we fight back? This session will hear from organisers, campaigners, and political leaders from across the anti-racist movement to explore what is happening on the ground, what we can do about it, all to determine the most effective and definitive ways to combat hate and instead, encourage hope and respect.
With Hannah David (TUC SW Chair / PCS), Kudsia Batool (TUC), Candy Udwin (Stand Up to Racism Dorset), Neil Duncan-Jordan MP, Dr. Patrick Neveling (Bournemouth University / UCU)
12:45 – 13:45 War and crisis in the Middle East
Rooted in Tolpuddle’s tradition of international solidarity, this debate examines how conflict across the Middle East is disrupting labour movements, eroding democratic space, and fuelling repression. It is here too where we ask ourselves as trade unions, campaigners, and communities what can we do to continue to resist, organise, and build solidarity across borders.
From Iran to Palestine to Sudan, workers are facing violence, displacement, and economic collapse. Yet they are also forging powerful networks of resistance: underground unions, feminist organising, diaspora-led campaigns and global solidarity movements that challenge militarism and demand justice.
This timely and urgent discussion brings together voices from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, MENA Solidarity Campaign, CODIR, and a speaker with lived experience from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, to explore how war, occupation, sanctions, and geopolitical crises shape the lives of workers across the Middle East.
With Hannah David, Khalid Sidahmad (MENA Solidarity Network), Louise Regan (Palestine Solidarity Campaign), Jamshid Ahmadi (CODIR)
14:00 – 15:15 DEBATE: Finishing the Job: forward to the Employment Rights Bill #2 (Organised by Campaign for Trade Union Freedom/Institute of Employment Rights)
Join the Institute of Employment Rights and Campaign for Trade Union Freedom panel as it explores the campaign for a new deal for working people and what’s left to tackle.
With Eddie Dempsey (RMT General Secretary), John McDonnell MP, Fran Heathcote (PCS General Secretary), Prof Keith Ewing (CTUF/IER), Cristina Ioanitescu (General Secretary, App Drivers’ & Couriers’ Union), Sarah Woolley (BFAWU General Secretary)
15:15 – 16:30 Who gets a voice in Modern Britain?
Unions have long known that voice in Britain is rarely equal or fairly distributed. It is often the case that some groups have the privilege of driving national debate, whilst organisations and lobbyists exist to stifle or indeed, silence others.
But unions have established strategies and mechanisms that can tackle this status quo by building collective power with a cross-section of voices and by taking and making space so that others can be heard.
In this debate, we therefore hear from union leaders as well as community, cultural and political voices on how we can navigate a system set to work against us, and what further actions the progressive movement can take to redefine modern Britain.
With The Peoples’ Army, Sian Elliott (TUC), Neil Duncan-Jordan MP, Naomi Pohl (General Secretary, Musicians’ Union), Hannah David
19:00 MUSIC: Tolpuddle Unplugged (hosted by Steve White and Lol Ross) The usual surprise package of begged, borrowed and stolen artists plus special guests!
Sunday 20 July
9:00 – 10:00 Dorset Red Choir
10:00 – 10:50 What do disabled people want from a Burnham-led government?
A lively and uncompromising discussion on what disabled people want from a future Burnham‑led government is coming to Tolpuddle. Chaired by Angela Duerden, DPAC speakers will set out key demands for justice and equality: from closing the disability pay gap, shifting damaging media narratives, implications of the Timms Review, and fixing and fully funding Access to Work. BSL interpretation will be available.
With Angela Duerden, Craig Duerden, Natasha Hirst, Lee Starr-Elliott
11:00 – 12:00 Organising for education: Winning the schools we deserve
A discussion on what a good schooling provision should look like and how we get there from here.