Richard Oastler was one of the great people of Leeds. Schools and colleges in West Yorkshire have been named after him; statues and stained glass windows have been dedicated to his memory; one of the city's blue plaques marks his birthplace in St. Peter's Square. Richard Oastler was an early campaigner against slavery in the West Indies but turned his attention in the 1830s to an emerging industrial Britain and the exploitation of workers in the textile factories. Oastler was shocked to see even young children broken by long hours of work and drew deeply on his Christian faith to push for social and economic change to reverse this 'Yorkshire Slavery'.   It took years of tireless campaigning but Oastler's work was eventually seen as one of the foundations of a welfare state that took seriously the needs and rights of ordinary workers. Richard Oastler embodies the Oastler Centre's passion for faith-inspired involvement in the economy and caring values in the workplace.