The Trans-Pennine March for Jobs from Sheffield to Blackpool passed through Keighley on Sunday 11th October 1981. 100 members of the People’s Campaign for Jobs marched into the town and joined a rally in Town Hall Square. There were cries of “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, out, out, out!” The crowd gathered in Town Hall Square were addressed by Steve Davison, chairman of Keighley Trades Council, by Frank Brammah of Keighley Unemployed Workers Association, and by the town’s MP, Bob Cryer. A Keighley News photographer captured the event and the story was covered in the newspaper the following Friday.
Keighley News, 16th October 1981: “Left-wing Labour MP Mr Bob Cryer said the march was part of the struggle against Thatcher policies and with unity and determination they would win. He claimed the Prime Minister was using unemployment as a weapon against the organised trade union movement. Mr Cryer condemned government cuts in welfare benefits, social services and education while they were spending six or seven billion pounds on Trident and Cruise missiles.”
The marchers were given tea by St. Anne’s Justice and Peace Group followed by a service at St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church. There was a civic reception from the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Danny Coughlin, and free entertainment in the evening at the Victoria Hotel. Marchers spent the night in private homes or at Keighley Central Youth Club.
In 2021, Keighley and District Local History Society acquired an extensive collection of photograph negatives taken by the Keighley News. Groups of negatives were held in small wallets with the date and basic labelling written on the wallet. These photographs are from that collection.
