Yet he was a decisive figure in the great strike of 1984-85. Page 150-152, [2] Campbell, John. This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 23:36. ",confirmEmpty: "Are you sure you want to empty your clipboard? [he fails to see that] the working class is a world class. Add the following snippet of code to the top of your .htaccess file: # BEGIN WordPress His comments followed a question in the Commons from Labour MP Lisa Nandy, who said the miners and their families deserved an apology for the mine closures. [43] Marr, Andrew. (The Yorkshire Left had already decided to stand him as their candidate even before the strike.) [25] Thatcher, Margaret. Margaret Thatcher: From Grocers Daughter to Iron Lady. In pictures: Arthur Scargill's legacy Mr Scargill's election as NUM president in 1981 had an electrifying effect on the union movement. A History of Modern Britain. Logger.logCoid("61c4e44a-8d58-45d2-8bc5-5fc2bd749aae"); // Page 316, [3] Harris, Robert. Scargill said himself that the real reason that the NUM areas such as Nottinghamshire, South Derbyshire and Leicestershire wanted a national strike ballot was that they wanted the strike called off, believing naively that their pits were safe[7]. The view that the failure to call a National Ballot, by Scargill, cost him valuable support is advocated by Shirley Letwin; Nor did he bother to abide by his own unions rules which required that a strike shall be entered upon as the result of a ballot vote of the members.[1] This led to the miners losing the support of many, including Labour Partys- Neil Kinnock, who felt emotionally disposed to support the miners but aware that it would be political suicide to do so[2]. However, many people argue that there was a lot of support for the strike so therefore it couldnt have been such an important factor in its failure in 1985. Barnsley: Wharncliffe, 2002. Therefore, the fact that Scargill didnt call a National Ballot was irrelevant[11] as Tony Benn says, but the fact that Scargill authorised violent tactics that reduced public sympathy and misjudged situations may have been a factor in the failure of the miners strike. He was also on the hard-left of the Labour Party, often disagreeing with Neil Kinnock who couldnt support the strike due to its illegitimacy after Scargills failure to call a ballot. However, another reason that many people blame Scargill for the downfall of the miners is due to the fact that Scargill authorised the flying picket strategy in order to stop miners going to work. The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! A debate on workers' control. Accessed October 12, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Benn. The judge Sir Sydney Templeman held that it was unlawful that union members were disciplined by the NUM disciplinary panel, which Scargill chaired, for appearing as witnesses testifying against Scargill in a libel case. An article published in The Times in August 2015 stated that Scargill had spoken to the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union conference in June 2015, and that he was due to appear alongside Jeremy Corbyn at the Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign in September 2015. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? [32] Benn, Tony. You may need to scroll to find it. However, we have to be careful when using this source as evidence as Scargill may have been trying to justify his actions to save himself criticism. [37], The South Wales area leader, Des Dutfield, moved that Scargill should stand down and face re-election, but the motion was defeated. It was a major political victory for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party. If this doesn't work, you may need to edit your .htaccess file directly. This is supported by Margaret Thatcher herself; His (Ian McGregor) impression was that the police were failing to uphold criminal law and that the pickets had been able to prevent people going to work[38]. He had no means of calling a strike in Yorkshire.[27]. Therefore, government preparations are more important than other factors, such as Arthur Scargills leadership and support for the strike, in the failure of the miners strike. London: Verso, 2014. Page 39. [32] An internal NUM report by Gavin Lightman QC found that Scargill had used some of the Libyan money to pay for improvements to his bungalow but not to pay off his mortgage (as had been alleged),[33] and stated that Scargill's failure to make a full report on the Soviet money donated for the Welsh miners was "a remarkable breach of duty" and that he should repay the money back to the NUM. Person/Body (Historic): University of Leeds and Nottingham. The two men had been convicted of the murder of David Wilkie, a taxi driver, by throwing a block of concrete from a bridge onto his car. See the Section on 404 errors after clicking a link in WordPress. That's what I believe". Andrew Marrs view on why the Miners strike failed is much more convincing as it gives credit to Scargills leadership skills while also saying not even he would be able to persuade every part of the industry to strike showing that Marr believes that Scargill was the best man for the job. He led an unofficial strike in 1969, and played a key organising role during strikes of 1972 and 1974, the latter of which played a part in the downfall of Edward Heath's Conservative government. The strike ended on 3 March 1985 following an NUM vote to return to work. National Archives: Margaret Thatcher Wanted to Crush Power of Trade Unions. The Guardian. (1988), Trade unions and politics : thatchers assault on the unions ; the unions response, Kahn, Peggy, Accessed October 11, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/jan/07/guardianletters4. [33] Milne, Seumas. [29] Thatcher, Margaret. Page 317. The Socialist Labour Party ( SLP) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Having read the above (barely, dont like reading lies) I felt the immediate need to respond, if anything to comfort myself. //--> However, Kenneth OMorgan may be overemphasising the amount of support that the miners had as we know that Thatcher continuously demonised the miners in the media calling them the enemy within and this reduced a lot of public support for the strike. Please click on a checkbox next to an item and try again. Are you using WordPress? These days he only gets to speak at the crankiest of Stalinist events. London: Fontana, 1992. This was denied by the government at the time, although papers released in 2014 under the thirty-year rule suggest that Scargill was right. [27] Thatcher, Margaret. Tony Benn opposes Evans view by saying the extent of the support in the NUM as a whole was evidenced by the overwhelming majority of miners who remained on strike until it ended in 1985[14]. Soup kitchens were set up to save miners and their families from starvation in nearly every small village[18]. Campbell, Adrian, and Malcolm Warner. Page 343-344. [51] Scargill criticised Poland's Solidarity calling it an "anti-socialist organisation which desires the overthrow of a socialist state", which Scargill saw as deformed but reformable. }); Therefore government preparations was definitely a factor in the failure of the miners strike but to what extent, can be argued. Another controversial action that Thatcher took was giving the police ultimate power during the strike. [45], For years the NUM had been paying 34,000 annual rent for the flat on Scargill's instructions, without the knowledge of NUM members or many senior officials; Scargill claimed the NUM should continue funding his flat for the rest of his life, and thereafter for any widow who survived him. Look for the .htaccess file in the list of files. References to this book. How to find the correct spelling and folder, 404 Errors After Clicking WordPress Links, From the left-hand navigation menu in WordPress, click. His one man mission to bring down the elected government, for a second time, and destroy Thatcherism was not only not accomplished ,it only served to strengthen the Conservative Government and Thatchers dominance of the political landscape for over a decade. [53] Following Margaret Thatcher's death in April 2013, ITN made Scargill several offers for a five-minute interview, with the final offer reaching 16,000, but Scargill refused all the offers and did not speak to any media organisation. Dont forget that Labours manifesto at Kinnocks last election included a policy of leaving the bloc, and who knows what t was under Corbyn. Arrow, 1994. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (1984-85), a major event in the history of the British labour movement. Page 57-59. EconBiz.Logger.logPageView(); Downing Street Years. The Museum at Work; Health, Wellbeing and Amgueddfa Cymru ; Collections Online. Scargill has so burnt his bridges with the NUM and the broad left of the labour movement that his name is never mentioned at Durham miners gala or at other miners strike commemorations. [41], In 1993, Scargill tried to use Thatcher's flagship Right to Buy scheme to buy a flat on the Barbican estate in central London. [33], In July 1990, the NUM executive voted unanimously to sue Scargill and general secretary Peter Heathfield. Riddled with Stalinist politics and practice and some of the worst sectarianism imaginable, it has no meaningful existence today. A dialogue box may appear asking you about encoding. Downing Street Years. However, Margaret Thatchers intentions in this source have to be questioned as this book was published in 1993 after Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister in 1990, therefore she may have been trying to justify her actions and downplay the use of police in the miners strike. On any measure, Scargill was a failure who brought hardship down on those who followed him, now a pitiful figure. In 1973, Scargill was elected to the full-time post of compensation agent in the Yorkshire NUM. The strict trade union laws have also been credited for the failure of the strike with Norman Tebbit, who introduced the trade union law reforms, saying because of my reforms, if these other unions had joined an illegal strike, the Coal Board could have asked the court to confiscate their funds[23]. S.l. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. The striking miners didnt have the support of the Nottinghamshire miners, dock workers or even the Labour Party, including Neil Kinnock, and many historians believe that the strikes failure was down to the fact that it was so poorly supported; such as Eric Evans who takes the mainstream media view and believed the appearance of a much more conciliatory breakaway union representing the profitable East Midlands mining arealed to collapse of the strike[12] This we know to be true as the Nottinghamshire miners alone produced 25% of the Nations coal. Because of Scargills actions, the strike was illegal, poorly supported and doomed to failure given the level of government preparations. Letwins Thatcherite view is also discredited by Tony Benn who says The issue of a national ballot was really irrelevant. (1983), Restructuring the employment relationship, Gallie, Duncan, Looking for a flexible role? Free resources to assist you with your university studies! Page 414. : A Review of Literature on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike. His legacy is one of shame and ignominy. [19] Morgan, Kenneth O.Britain since 1945: The Peoples Peace. London: Verso, 2014. [11] Benn, Tony. The Enemy Within: The Secret War against the Miners. Margaret Thatcher. This was seen as violent and was deemed illegal. Eric Evans described him as aggressive and charismatic, but vain and politically limited[42], therefore showing his limitations as the head of NCB. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. 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