COACHLOADS of Christians from around Portsmouth will highlight the injustice of trade rules at the Labour party conference this weekend.

Campaigners from south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will be among thousands from across the country flocking to Brighton this Sunday. They are part of the Trade Justice Campaign, which aims to challenge unfair trade rules that keep millions in poverty worldwide.

Among the events planned will be a rally during which campaigners will symbolically ‘Vote for Trade Justice’ by putting signed voting cards in a ballot box; a Latin American-style carnival; and an ecumenical church service.

The worldwide Trade Justice Campaign, an alliance that includes agencies from Christian Aid to Oxfam as well as the Church of England itself, wants the rules governing trade between different countries to be re-written to give poorer countries a fair chance. An example of the injustice is that Third World farmers can find it difficult to sell produce in their own countries because they are undercut by cheaper imports from richer countries. The current rules mean they are not allowed to impose tariffs on such imports.

Campaigners will be at both Liberal Democrat and Conservative party conferences too, but have targeted the Labour conference because the government has a unique chance to put the issue of trade justice in the spotlight in 2005. The UK government will hold the presidency of the EU for six months next year and host the G8 summit of industrialised countries.

The Rev Nick Ralph, social responsibility adviser for Portsmouth’s Anglican diocese, said: “This is such a crucial time for the campaign, and we in Portsmouth are very well placed to nip over to Brighton and join the lobby. It won’t be confrontational – it’s more of a carnival or celebration. Because of our diocese’s links with Ghana, we have a particular interest in what’s happened there, where rice, tomato and chicken farmers have been driven out of business by unfair trade rules.”

International pop star Ronan Keating joined in the call for trade justice when he visited Ghana himself with Christian Aid over the summer.

Negotiations over the summer by the World Trade Organisation were heralded as a breakthrough for poorer countries. The US and EU agreed to eliminate all export subsidies, to prevent farmers being pushed out of business by heavily subsidised imports. But no timetable was agreed for this, and poorer countries had to make concessions in other areas.

For those who can’t get to Brighton, trade justice is the theme of a harvest thanksgiving at St Mary’s Church, Fratton, Portsmouth, from 10am on Sunday (September 26).