MORE than a thousand people are expected to turn out for a free music festival in Bury organised by the TUC in a bid to boost their "Campaign to Defend the Welfare State."

The festival, at Clarence Park in Bury on September 29, is timed to coincide with the arrival in the town of more than 40 marchers who will walk coast to coast from Hull to the Labour Party Conference in Blackpool.

Eight local bands will appear at the event which will include refreshments, five-a-side football, and a fun fair.

The festival has been organised by Bury TUC, the town's Unemployed Workers' Centre and Bury Council.

March organisers are hoping festival-goers will walk with the marchers from Bury to Bolton where a public meeting will be held with veteran left-winger Tony Benn as the invited speaker at the Socialist Club on Wood Street.

Bury-based TUC activist Alec McFadden has worked closely with local police and the council in a bid to ensure the festival runs smoothly.

And as chairman of the Welfare State Network, Mr McFadden is also joint organiser of the long march which will arrive at the Labour conference in Blackpool on October 1.

Mr McFadden said: "This is not a token protest march but a serious attempt to influence and persuade the Labour Party to save the welfare state and return it to a society which cares for people from the cradle to the grave.

"The Labour Party has always claimed to be the party of the people and created the welfare state. It is therefore logical to request that the party's manifesto clearly states its policy to defend the welfare state."

The Bury festival will start at noon and the Bolton meeting will start at 7.30pm.

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