{"id":1059,"date":"2014-09-05T10:37:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T09:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2014-09-05T10:37:44","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T09:37:44","slug":"diggers-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=1059","title":{"rendered":"The Diggers return"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An opportunity to discover a proud tradition of English radicalism while having fun is guaranteed for any Unite member attending the fourth Wigan Diggers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Festival on Saturday September 13.<\/p>\n

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Unite members in the North West have played crucial roles in building this annual event that last year attracted over 2,000 visitors.<\/p>\n

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The Diggers sprang up around the English Civil War in the 17th century. They aimed to use the earth to reclaim the freedom they felt had been partly lost through the Norman Conquest.<\/p>\n

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Seizing and owning land \u00e2\u20ac\u0098in common\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 could create a classless society where property and wages are abolished.<\/p>\n

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In 1649, small Diggers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 groups defied landlords and the army by settling on common land and growing crops. Supporters travelled nationally attempting to rally supporters.<\/p>\n

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The movement was ultimately defeated when violent opposition from landowners saw Diggers beaten, their houses burnt down and legal restraints applied to their occupation.<\/p>\n

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The main Diggers propagandist was Gerrard Winstanley, born in Wigan in 1609 and who died on 10 September 1676.<\/p>\n

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In 1621 Wiganers dug up common land in a successful access struggle and it is believed that this subsequently inspired Winstanley when he moved to London in 1630.<\/p>\n

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Despite being one of the great English radicals, Winstanley was largely unrecognised in his hometown for many years.<\/p>\n

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Inspired by hearing Billy Bragg sing The world turned upside down, Stephen Hall, a Leigh Unite branch member, persuaded other local trade union activists to organise an initial Diggers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Festival in 2011. Its success has been built on in each subsequent year.<\/p>\n

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Six local Unite branches as well as the North West region of the union are backing the 2014 festival. This will take place in the Wigan town centre Wiend area, where there are advanced plans to rename the garden area in Winstanley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s honour.<\/p>\n

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On September 13, actor John Graham-Davies will again perform as Winstanley while TV documentary filmmaker David Malone will talk on how the Diggers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 leader influenced the radical thinkers of the French and American Revolutions.<\/p>\n

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There will be a puppet story show on the Diggers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c described by Tony Benn as \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe first true Socialists\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and an all-day children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arts and craft area.<\/p>\n

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In addition there will be 40 plus food, book and other stalls along with the popular \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Occu-pie Wigan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 beer tent.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are very keen for Unite members to come along and join in the fun whilst commemorating a courageous man who influenced the later development of the labour movement in this country,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Stephen Hall.<\/p>\n

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All events are free and take place between 11.00am and 9.30pm in the Wiend area of Wigan Town Centre.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click here for the Wigan Diggers Festival website<\/a> or see the event page on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pictured are two of last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Diggers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An opportunity to discover a proud tradition of English radicalism while having fun is guaranteed for any Unite member attending the fourth Wigan Diggers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Festival on Saturday September 13.   Unite members in the North West have played crucial roles in building this annual event that last year attracted over 2,000 visitors.   The Diggers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"Next Saturday September 13, the Diggers return to Wigan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1062,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions\/1062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}