The Left Field

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The Left Field is a travelling stage and bar which forms part of a number of British festivals. The event is organised by Geoff Martin, organiser of the Battersea and Wandsworth TUC, and sponsored by Cooperative Insurance, the GMB union, the Amicus union, Clause IV, Ethical Threads and the Workers Beer Company. The Left Field was first designed to tackle apathy and promote left-wing politics and trade unionism in young festival goers at the Glastonbury Festival in 2000, and has since trebled in size and is now a regular fixture at Guilfest, Homelands and Glastonbury festivals, and in 2005 at the Edinburgh Fringe ^[1].

The Left Field features left-wing musicians, such as perennial Billy Bragg and Asian Dub Foundation, political comedians such as Mark Thomas and commentators including Tony Benn, with a number of speeches and debates taking place at each festival. The Left Field also runs many films, for example exposing the violence in Colombia. The Left Field also promotes campaigns and charities, such as No Sweat and War on Want.