Row breaks out between gala and Corbyn shirt firm
JEREMY Corbyn proudly wore a special shirt presented to him by the Marras at the Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday.
But the Pegswood-based familyrun clothing firm who made the top – Miner Wear – say they have been frozen out by the gala’s organisers.
Friends of Durham Miners’ Gala say everything they have ordered from the company has been paid for.
The dispute comes over whether Miner Wear were commissioned to make samples of other designs along with the Corbyn shirt and another presented to Dennis Skinner.
The special edition has the Labour leader’s name and number 10 on the back, which both sides accept was paid for. But the company say they are owed for almost £1,000 of stock which has left them “on the brink of bankruptcy”.
Miner Wear’s owners also claimed the Marras pulled out of their “commitment” to let them be an official merchandiser for the group.
Their application to sell clothing at the gala for the fourth year running in 2018 was declined.
The brand was founded by 32-year-old Graham Murdie, from Ashington.
Speaking to The Chronicle, he claimed: “The Marras never fulfilled their commitment to offer a worthy contract to merchandise for them.
“They brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy and left us with nearly £1,000 of stock which they steadfastly refuse to pay.
“We had been stallholders at Durham for the previous three years and our application this year was met with stony silence.
“How ironic that the leader of the opposition wore the shirt today in our absence.”
Friends of Durham Miner’s Gala say any other stock made with their branding was “unauthorised” by them.
Director Ross Forbes said: “We never ordered or received anything but the shirts from Miner Wear and we have explained that.
“They produced some unauthorised materials and sent us a bill for £1,400 of unpaid stock. If they can produce anything in terms of an order form, then we will honour it.
“There was absolutely never any intention from us that we would cause Miner Wear any financial difficulty.”
Miner Wear operates on the site of the former Pegswood Colliery. Graham designs the clothes and his mum Carole stitches the final finishes into the fabric. Dad Trevor is also a partner in the company.
Pictures of Corbyn in front of 200,000 people in the Miner Wear shirt have made the national newspapers and websites, but it has been tinged with disappointment for its creators.
Trevor Murdie said: “We’ve still got another version (of the special edition shirt) to keep. We were surprised to see Jeremy Corbyn was wearing his on Saturday.”
Graham set up Miner Wear in honour of his grandfather John Gillespie, who worked in North East collieries for 38 years.
Trevor Murdie said: “That’s the part that really gets me. We started the company to get that feeling of community and heritage. I don’t really know how the relationship broke down. But when they gave us the contract it was one nobody would sign. If we made 1,000 shirts and only sold two we would have been liable for the rest.”
Mr Forbes said they had an informal agreement where Miner Wear could sell branded “the Marras” clothing through their website, but this was done to order.
As things got “chaotic” the group presented a contract to the clothing company which clarified they did not want to be responsible for any unsolicited stock.
Mr Forbes added: “We entered into this initial arrangement with them with a degree of trust.
“We were never going to make much money from this. The Friends of Durham Miners’ Gala is a volunteer organisation. We don’t have the funds to be liable for any stock.”