The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Khadim Hussain, has welcomed a delegation of trade unionists from Norway to a civic reception at City Hall.

The event marked the 20th anniversary of an annual education exchange visit where Norwegian trade unionists brush up on their English language skills and learn about the British trade union and labour movement.

Delegates will be spending a week at the Trade Union Studies Centre at Bradford College which has hosted the event continuously since 1993.

The annual exchange was the brainchild of former Bradford College TUC Tutors Gill Jennison and head of department Trevor Sargison.

Steve Davison, head of trade union studies at Bradford College, said: “We are proud to maintain the educational and friendship links with Norwegian trade unionists who not only learn about Bradford’s rich history but through interchange in the classroom and through social events, also contribute to the wider learning of local union representatives.”

Welcoming the delegation to City Hall, the Lord Mayor said that he was proud of his links with the trade unions who, along with the Labour Party, had been responsible for so much social progress in Bradford and by democratising politics enabled ordinary working men and women to become Lord Mayor.