Skip to main content
The ideals of the Levellers are alive and well
NICK MATTHEWS recalls the founding of the annual Levellers Day and its stalwart supporters Dudley Edwards and Tony Benn
Levellers' Day parade in Burford [@levellersday]

THE third Saturday in May is a great time for those on the left to pay a visit the Cotswolds, if only for a chance to disturb the quiet of its modern chocolate box image, and where better than Burford for Levellers Day. 

I find it hard to think of Levellers Day and not think of Tony Benn who was a regular attendee.

The beautiful Cotswolds churchyard of St John the Baptist is perhaps an unlikely spot for a socialist pilgrimage but in May 1649 it was the scene of historic events.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Exhumation of a mass grave of 26 Spanish Republicans killed by the fascists at Estépar, near Burgos. They were among an estimated 2,500 executions carried out in the area [Pic: Mario Modesto Mata /Creative Commons]
Spanish Civil War 90th Anniversary / 4 July 2026
4 July 2026

Historical shame prevents the International Brigades and those Spaniards who supported the Republic from being properly recognised and honoured, writes NOELIA SANCHEZ

International Brigader and NUR man Jim Prendergast (left) and (right) a plaque in RMT’s London HQ
Spanish Civil War 90th Anniversary / 4 July 2026
4 July 2026

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey explains why his union is proud of its members who fought in Spain

Tom Mooney Company from the Lincoln Battalion, during the Spanish Civil War, Jarama, Spain, 1937
History / 24 February 2026
24 February 2026

CJ ATKINS commemorates one of the most dramatic moments in working-class history

 Lord Radcliffe, who conducted an investigative tribunal after a series of ‘spy scandals’ during Harold Macmillan’s premiership
History / 9 November 2025
9 November 2025

In part II of a serialisation of his new book, JOHN McINALLY explores how witch-hunting drives took hold in the Civil Service as the cold war emerged in the wake of WWII