GET ready for the march of a lifetime as Honda workers prepare to take to the streets tomorrow in a bid to save thousands of jobs.

The Advertiser is calling on its readers one last time to join the throng of people demonstrating through the town centre from the County Ground to a rally in GWR Park and show how much the Honda plant means to our town as part of Unite’s Save Honda Swindon campaign. The proposed closure of the plant which has served Swindon so well for decades will lead to the loss of 3,500 jobs and have a knock-on effect on an estimated 12,000 other jobs in businesses around town which supply the factory with goods.

Swindon Borough Council leader David Renard will be at the rally. He said: “I am fully supportive of our collective efforts to try to persuade Honda to stay in Swindon. The majority of those attending the March on Saturday will have shared concern for themselves and others who are affected by the news of Honda potentially leaving Swindon, and a wider concern for the future of our town.

“The organisers have been clear that this is a community led event and not a political and I applaud everyone intending to March on Saturday who wants to show solidarity with members of our community who are fearful for their future. Let us hope that the weather is on our side and we all have a peaceful and fruitful day.”

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The march will not just include workers from the shop floor, but managers and employees in companies further down the supply chain who will be bussed in from all over the country to join local residents at the County Ground car park at 11am, where Unite’s general secretary Len McCluskey will give a stirring speech to the crowd before setting off towards the park on Faringdon Road, led by two Honda Civics and a brass band.

South Swindon MP Robert Buckland said: “I strongly support Honda workers and any efforts to persuade Honda to think again. We have a world-class skilled workforce that has so much to offer.”

Unite regional secretary Steve Preddy said: “Swindon has had a troubling downturn in its fortunes so this threat of closure couldn’t come at a worse time. Too many decent jobs have been lost and not replaced. That hurts a community, as you can see it in the high street.Swindon already has a foodbank that is struggling to cope with demand. It would be a tragedy if Honda walks away from a town that has given that company so much, sending a loyal workforce to the dole queue. We can’t and won’t let that happen.

“Businesses are telling us that they are fearful about what will happen to this town if Honda goes. It is not just the Honda plant, there is the whole logistics supply chain including Honda Logistics and TS Tech who are also major employers in this town. There are apprentices whose career hangs in the balance.

“Above all, there will be thousands of breadwinners without a pay packet. Unite will simply not stand by and let that happen, which is why we are marching this Saturday and implore the people of the town and region to join us. We are fighting for our communities’ futures here.”

A rolling roadblock will ensure that roads around the town centre which are closed while marchers make their way along them will reopen as soon as they’ve passed through safely.

Once everyone arrives in the park at around 12,30pm, there will be a rally with speeches from Mayor of Swindon Junab Ali, Honda workers, Labour’s shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey and Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner, plus family fun activities, food stalls, and Swindon singer-songwriter Josh Kumra performing his aptly-titled number one hit single Don’t Go.

Coun Ali said: “If there’s any chance of persuading Honda to stay, then we need to take it. This is a great gesture to show Honda executives that we have hard-working world-class employees who deserve to keep their jobs. I’m hopeful that people will show solidarity with the workers and their families the future for them is uncertain so we need to untie and support them, and I’m confident that a lot of people will turn up to the march.”

Swindon-born Countdown host Nick Hewer and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott have pledged their support for the march. Diane said: ““I hope the march will have an affect, people do have to mobilise, there’s no question. You have to have hope.”

Honda propose to shut up shop at the end of the plant’s current production cycle in 2021 and move operations elsewhere because of unprecedented changes in the global automotive industry which has led to a worldwide company restructure and increased focus on producing electric cars.

More than 16,000 people have signed Unite’s petition to keep the Honda plant open - another way they hope to keep pressure on the company. A government task force working with Swindon Borough Council and the unions to support Honda workers is consulting with executives to see if the closure can be avoided and, if it cannot, help affected staff find new employment. It is hoped that this march could persuade it to reconsider this decision.

For more details, visit unitetheunion.org/honda30march