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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attended a memorial service in memory of the Tolpuddle Martyrs in Dorest. The group were 19th-century Dorset agricultural labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers.  On 18 March 1834, the Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced to penal transportation to Australia. The Tolpuddle Martyrs festival is held annually in Tolpuddle. Recent festivals have featured speakers such as Tony Benn and musicians such as Billy Bragg and...

A Europhile academic declared his home an independent Republic in a bid to avoid Brexit, recreating Ealing comedy 'Passport to Pimlico'. Dr William Riches, 77, made his wife the President and gave his children and grandchildren citizenship of the Independent Republic of Middlewatch - the name of his house - so they do not need passports to cross the threshold. However, when Britain does leave the European Union visitors will require a visa costing at least £50 to enter the...

Tory Philip Hammond refused to deny saying public sector workers are “overpaid” even when the Shadow Chancellor showed him a pay slip from a cleaner who made £297 a week. Millionaire Hammond still was dumbstruck by McDonnell's clever ploy. John McDonnell slammed the Chancellor for the comments, allegedly made during a cabinet meeting last week. McDonnell told the BBC’s Andrew Marr: “I was at Bart’s Hospital yesterday with the cleaners, who are on strike. Why are they on strike? Because...

GMB, Unison and Unite have submitted a police staff pay claim to break the government imposed pay cap. Police staff, along with other public sector workers, have had thousands of pounds pinched from their wages due to a government imposed 1% pay cap which forces them to foot the bill for the 2008 crash. GMB analysis shows that most police staff salaries have lost between 9.4 per cent (CPI) and 13.5 per cent (RPI) of their value since 2010. The...

Theresa May should take some notes on how to get the Brexit negotiators onside and hopefully get a better deal for the UK. Corbyn was using the carrot rather than stick method when he met with the EU's Brexit team. The Labour leader made a bid to charm the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. He decided to give Mr Barnier an Arsenal shirt, with the official's name printed on the back. Both Mr Corbyn and his Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir...

A flytipper who illegally dumped more than 60 TONNES of rubbish was let off with a £50 fine. Lance Morris, 47, dumped the waste - including old tyres and timber - in Croydon, south London, over a three-year period. But the litter mountain cost Croydon Council thousands of pounds to clear up. Morris didn't have the necessary licences to carry or store the waste, and gave the "false impression" that he was working as a builder. He claimed the waste...

Thousands of people lined the streets today for the funeral of brave little Bradley Lowery. Bradley died aged six on Friday (July 7) after a five-year battle against the cancer Neuroblastoma. Thousands line the streets for the funeral of Bradley Lowery, the cheerful boy made famous by his approach to fighting neuroblastoma, in Blackhall Colliery, County Durham, July 14 2017. The youngster captured the nation's heart in his fight against the disease and had made a firm friend in Sunderland...

A man left with 'life changing' injuries following a spate of acid attack robberies was left screaming in agony as dozens of people rushed into the street to try and help him, witnesses said. He was targeted in a suspected robbery last night (Thurs) during a series of five attacks by men on a moped across north London in just 72 minutes, which police believe are linked. A major investigation has now been launched and a teenager has been arrested...

They say elephants never forget, but crafty squirrels can remember how they got into a garden birdfeeder... two years later. And they are also able to use those skills to solve a redesigned version of the same test within half a minute. The intelligence of the pesky rodents is well known, but the new findings shed fresh light on just why they are such a nuisance. Despite their amusing antics, keeping neighbourhood grey squirrels out of a birdfeeder is usually...