The West Yorkshire town of Halifax was absolutely at the centre of the great strike wave associated with Chartism in 1842. And in the summer of 2022, the 180th anniversary of these strikes for bread and the ballot were commemorated at events backed by Calderdale Trades Council, the Society for the Study of Labour History and others – to great acclaim.

Now there is a thirty-minute video titled Bread Not Bayonets, which tells the story of the strike and the people involved in it. Produced by film-maker and journalist Mark Metcalf, directed by Francesca Platt, and featuring historians Dr Matt Roberts and Dr Catherine Howe, and geographer Dr Daniel Whittall, the film is available on YouTube.

Read our report of the 2022 commemoration events: ‘They came for bread not bayonets’.