FESTIVAL favourite Billy Bragg features in a packed programme of music, drama and speakers coming to Tolpuddle this summer.

The popular Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival, which has been running since 1934, will run from Friday, July 19 to Sunday 21.

This year the Martyrs themselves will take centre stage with the premiere of a play telling the tale of the six 19th century agricultural workers who ended up becoming trade union heroes.

The performance of We Will Be Free by Townsend Productions will take place on the Saturday night.

West Dorset-based Mr Bragg – whose new album Tooth and Nail is currently at number 13 in the UK album charts – will be performing on the Sunday night with veteran reggae outfit Talisman headlining on the Friday and ska band The Skints taking centre stage on Saturday.

Speakers on the Sunday include the Trade Unions Congress’s new general secretary Frances O’Grady while the radical history school will again be running in conjunction with the festival, starting on Thursday, July 18.

Festival organiser Nigel Costley said: “The weekend’s programme is more varied than ever before, with some great music, poetry, drama and, of course, the famous Tolpuddle debates.

“We have six debates this year, with themes including the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech, welfare, fairness at work, faith in action, education and austerity.

“As the government launches attack after attack on trade union rights, more and more members are becoming active in their unions and are fighting back against policies that have seen their wages fall while the cost of living rises. Tolpuddle has become a key date in the trade union calendar as activists and others recharge their batteries for the battles ahead. Unions, politics, music – what’s not to like?”

Admission on the Sunday, when the main rally takes place, is free but visitors have to pay for weekend passes and camping.

For more information about the festival and a full programme, as well as details of the radical history school, visit tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk