This is the BWTUC party at the official opening of the 13 new Margaret Bondfield cottages in Pilton by Jeremy Corbyn and Michael Eavis on Thursday 26th October. Jeremy Corbyn is pictured with Marsha de Cordova Labour Party MP for Battersea and Leonie Cooper elected Labour Party GLA member for Wandsworth and Merton and Unite delegate to BWTUC.

Spencer Barnshaw BWTUC Secretary said "BWTUC are very proud of our long term association with the world famous Glastonbury Festival through our trading and fundraising arm Workers Beer Company.”

We have been assisting Michael Eavis with his wonderful vision for social housing for local people in Pilton village for over a decade now.

BWTUC paid towards the Somerset stone cladding for the cottages being named after Margaret Bondfield who was born in Somerset and as a Labour Party MP was the first ever woman in the UK cabinet. The cottages stand on land donated by Michael Eavis. They were built by the Guinness Trust and are for perpetual rent.

The 13 houses are the latest addition to housing estate named Maggie’s Farm by David Beckham in June during the festival.

There are 12 houses in the estate called John Burns Cottages who founded BWTUC in 1894. Elected for Battersea  he was the second ever Labour Party MP. As a member of the UK government in 1907 he put the law on the statute books allowing councils to build houses for rent. Our remarkable founder resigned from the Cabinet in August 1914 refusing to vote for the UK to fight in the butchery of the First World War.

The 35 homes will be added to by 15 new houses for rent by 2020 to make it 50 houses to mark 50 years of Glastonbury Festival.

BWTUC will consider how we can help with the new houses which we hope can be opened by Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn in 2020.”

Notes
BWTUC is the south west arm of the international trades unions movement which have over 170 million members across the world. It was established in its first form in 1894.
 
The role of the trades unions council  made up of delegates from local branches of the unions affiliated to the national Trades Union Congress, is to promote trades union organisation and membership, to act as a focus for solidarity for workers in struggle locally, nationally and internationally and to support the international campaign for economic and social justice. 
 
BWTUC is an independent non incorporated body registered with the TUC. It is run by a General Committee ( GC) of the delegates from the affiliated branches. At the AGM the an Executive Committee (EC) is elected comprising of the Officers and others. BWTUC wholly own a trading arm BWTUC Trading Ltd run by a Management Committee appointed by the GC. The best known brands in BWTUC Trading are Workers Beer Company and the Bread and Roses pub in Clapham SW2. All property owned by the organisation is held by Trustees on behalf of the Council. For more information on Workers Beer Company visit www.workersbeer.co.uk/.  For more information on the Bread and Roses visit www.breadandrosespub.com/
 
BWTUC has an illustrious history that can be accessed by links on this site. See newsroom on this site and link to twitter for more information on current BWTUC linked events and activities on twitter link.