UK miners' strike (1984–85)
The miners' strike of 1984–85 was a major industriaw action to shut down de British coaw industry in an attempt to prevent cowwiery cwosures. It was wed by Ardur Scargiww of de Nationaw Union of Mineworkers (NUM) against de Nationaw Coaw Board (NCB), a government agency. Opposition to de strike was wed by de Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who cawwed de strikers and organisers "de enemy widin, uh-hah-hah-hah."
The NUM was divided over de action and many mineworkers, especiawwy in de Engwish Midwands, worked drough de dispute. Few major trade unions supported de NUM, primariwy because of de absence of a vote at nationaw wevew. Viowent confrontations between fwying pickets and powice characterised de year-wong strike, which ended in a decisive victory for de Conservative government and awwowed de cwosure of most of Britain's cowwieries. It was "de most bitter industriaw dispute in British history." At its height, de strike invowved 142,000 mineworkers. The number of person-days of work wost to de strike was over 26,000,000, making it de wargest since de 1926 generaw strike. The journawist Seumas Miwne said of de strike, "it has no reaw parawwew – in size, duration and impact – anywhere in de worwd".
The NCB was encouraged to gear itsewf toward reduced subsidies in de earwy 1980s. After a strike was narrowwy averted in February 1981, pit cwosures and pay restraint wed to unofficiaw strikes. The main strike started on 6 March 1984 wif a wawkout at Cortonwood Cowwiery, which wed to de NUM's Yorkshire area's sanctioning of a strike on de grounds of a bawwot resuwt from 1981 in de Yorkshire Area, which was water chawwenged in court. The union strategy was to cause a severe energy shortage of de sort dat had won victory in de 1972 strike. The government strategy, designed by Margaret Thatcher, was dreefowd: to buiwd up ampwe coaw stocks, to keep as many miners at work as possibwe, and to use powice to break up attacks by pickets on working miners. The criticaw ewement was de NUM's faiwure to howd a nationaw strike bawwot, which enabwed a minority on an area basis to keep working and kept oder unions from supporting it.
The strike was ruwed iwwegaw in September 1984, as no nationaw bawwot had been hewd. It ended on 3 March 1985. It was a defining moment in British industriaw rewations, de NUM's defeat significantwy weakening de trade union movement. It was a major victory for Thatcher and de Conservative Party, wif de Thatcher government abwe to consowidate deir economicawwy wiberaw programme. The number of strikes feww sharpwy in 1985 as a resuwt of de "demonstration effect" and trade union power in generaw diminished. Three deads resuwted from events rewated to de strike.
The much reduced coaw industry was privatised in December 1994, uwtimatewy becoming UK Coaw. In 1983, Britain had 174 working pits, but by 2009 dere were onwy six. Poverty increased in former coaw mining areas, and in 1994 Grimedorpe in Souf Yorkshire was de poorest settwement in de country.
- 1 Background
- 2 Seqwence of events
- 3 Issues
- 4 Variation in observing de strike
- 5 Responses to de strike
- 6 Long-term impact
- 7 Historicaw assessments
- 8 Cuwturaw references
- 9 See awso
- 10 Notes
- 11 References
- 12 Furder reading
- 13 Externaw winks
Whiwe more dan 1,000 cowwieries were working in de UK during de first hawf of de 20f century, by 1984 onwy 173 were stiww operating and empwoyment had dropped from its peak of 1 miwwion in 1922, down to 231,000 for de decade to 1982. This wong-term decwine in coaw empwoyment was common across de devewoped worwd; in de United States, empwoyment in de coaw-mining industry continued to faww from 180,000 in 1985 to 70,000 in de year 2000.
Coaw mining, nationawised by Cwement Attwee's Labour government in 1947, was managed by de Nationaw Coaw Board (NCB) under Ian MacGregor in 1984. As in most of Europe, de industry was heaviwy subsidised. In 1982–23, de operating woss per tonne was £3.05, and internationaw market prices for coaw were about 25% cheaper dan dat charged by de NCB. The cawcuwation of dese operating wosses was disputed.
By 1984, de richest seams of coaw had been increasingwy worked out and de remaining coaw was more and more expensive to reach. The sowution was mechanisation and greater efficiency per worker, making many miners redundant due to overcapacity of production, uh-hah-hah-hah. The industry was restructured between 1958 and 1967 in cooperation wif de unions, wif a hawving of de workforce; offset by government and industry initiatives to provide awternative empwoyment. Stabiwisation occurred between 1968 and 1977, when cwosures were minimised wif de support of de unions even dough de broader economy swowed. The accewerated contraction imposed by Thatcher after 1979 was strenuouswy opposed by de unions. In de post-war consensus, powicy awwowed for cwosures onwy where agreed to by de workers, who in turn received guaranteed economic security. Consensus did not appwy when cwosures were enforced and redundant miners had severewy wimited empwoyment awternatives.
The NUM's strike in 1974 pwayed a major rowe in bringing down Edward Heaf's Conservative government. The party's response was de Ridwey Pwan, an internaw report dat was weaked to The Economist magazine and appeared in its 27 May 1978 issue. Ridwey described how a future Conservative government couwd resist and defeat a major strike in a nationawised industry. In Ridwey's opinion, trade union power in de UK was interfering wif market forces, pushing up infwation, and de unions' undue powiticaw power had to be curbed to restore de UK's economy.
Nationaw Union of Mineworkers
The Nationaw Union of Mineworkers (NUM) came into being in 1945 and in 1947 most cowwieries in Britain were nationawised (958 nationawised, 400 private). Demand for coaw was high in de years fowwowing de Second Worwd War, and Powish refugees were drafted to work in de pits.:8 Over time, coaw's share in de energy market decwined rewative to oiw and nucwear. Large-scawe cwosures of cowwieries occurred in de 1960s, which wed to migration of miners from de run-down coawfiewds (Scotwand, Wawes, Lancashire, de norf-east of Engwand) to Yorkshire and de Midwands coawfiewds. After a period of inaction from de NUM weadership over empwoyment cuts, dere was an unofficiaw strike in 1969, after which many more miwitant candidates were ewected to NUM weadership. The dreshowd for endorsement of strike action in a nationaw bawwot was reduced from two-dirds in favour to 55% in 1971. There was den success in de nationaw strike in 1972, an overtime ban, and de subseqwent strike in 1974 (which wed to de Three Day Week). The NUM's success in bringing down de Heaf government demonstrated its power, but it caused resentment at deir demand to be treated as a speciaw case in wage negotiations.:11
The NUM had a decentrawised regionaw structure and certain regions were seen as more miwitant dan oders. Scotwand, Souf Wawes and Kent were miwitant and had some Communist officiaws, whereas de Midwands were much wess miwitant.:12 The onwy nationawwy coordinated actions in de 1984–85 strike were de mass pickets at Orgreave.
In de more miwitant mining areas, strikebreakers were reviwed and never forgiven for betraying de community. In 1984, some pit viwwages had no oder industries for many miwes around.:10 In Souf Wawes, miners showed a high degree of sowidarity, as dey came from isowated viwwages where most workers were empwoyed in de pits, had simiwar wifestywes, and an evangewicaw rewigious stywe based on Medodism dat wed to an ideowogy of egawitarianism. The dominance of mining in dese wocaw economies wed Oxford professor Andrew Gwyn to concwude dat no pit cwosure couwd be beneficiaw for government revenue.
From 1981, de NUM was wed by Ardur Scargiww, a miwitant trade unionist and sociawist, wif strong weanings towards communism. Scargiww was a vocaw opponent of Thatcher's government. In March 1983, he stated "The powicies of dis government are cwear – to destroy de coaw industry and de NUM". Scargiww wrote in de NUM journaw The Miner: "Waiting in de wings, wishing to chop us to pieces, is Yankee steew butcher MacGregor. This 70-year-owd muwti-miwwionaire import, who massacred hawf de steew workforce in wess dan dree years, is awmost certainwy brought in to wiewd de axe on pits. It's now or never for Britain's mineworkers. This is de finaw chance – whiwe we stiww have de strengf – to save our industry". On 12 May 1983, in response to being qwestioned on how he wouwd respond if de Conservatives were re-ewected in de generaw ewection, Scargiww repwied: "My attitude wouwd be de same as de attitude of de working cwass in Germany when de Nazis came to power. It does not mean dat because at some stage you ewect a government dat you towerate its existence. You oppose it". He awso said he wouwd oppose a second-term Thatcher government "as vigorouswy as I possibwy can". After de ewection, in a speech to de NUM conference in Perf on 4 Juwy 1983, Scargiww cawwed for extra-parwiamentary action against de Conservative government:
A fight back against dis Government's powicies wiww inevitabwy take pwace outside rader dan inside Parwiament. When I tawk about 'extra-parwiamentary action' dere is a great outcry in de press and from weading Tories about my refusaw to accept de democratic wiww of de peopwe. I am not prepared to accept powicies ewected by a minority of de British ewectorate. I am not prepared qwietwy to accept de destruction of de coaw industry, nor am I wiwwing to see our sociaw services decimated. This totawwy undemocratic Government can now easiwy push drough whatever waws it chooses. Faced wif possibwe parwiamentary destruction of aww dat is good and compassionate in our society, extra-parwiamentary action wiww be de onwy course open to de working cwass and de Labour movement.
Scargiww awso rejected de idea dat pits dat did not make a profit were "uneconomic": he cwaimed dere was no such ding as an uneconomic pit and argued dat no pits shouwd cwose except due to geowogicaw exhaustion or safety.
Nationaw Association of Cowwiery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers
No mining couwd wegawwy be done widout being overseen by an overman or deputy. Their union, de Nationaw Association of Cowwiery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers (NACODS) wif 17,000 members in 1984, was wess wiwwing to take industriaw action, uh-hah-hah-hah. Its constitution reqwired a two-dirds majority for a nationaw strike. During de 1972 strike, viowent confrontations between striking NUM and non-striking NACODS members wed to an agreement dat NACODS members couwd stay off work widout woss of pay if dey were faced wif aggressive picketing. Thus sowidarity wif striking NUM members couwd be shown by cwaims of viowence preventing de crossing of picket wines even widout a NACODS union vote for strike action, uh-hah-hah-hah. Initiawwy de dreshowd for striking was not met, dough a majority had voted for strike action it was not enough. However, water during de strike 82% did vote for strike action, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Seqwence of events
Cawws for action
In January 1981, de Yorkshire area of de NUM hewd a successfuw bawwot to approve strike action over any pit dreatened wif cwosure on economic grounds.:169 This wed to a two-week wocaw strike over de cwosure of Orgreave Cowwiery, but de bawwot resuwt was water invoked to justify strikes over oder cwosures, incwuding Cortonwood in 1984.:169 In February 1981, de government announced pwans to cwose 23 pits across de country but de dreat of a nationaw strike was enough to force a back down, uh-hah-hah-hah. Coaw stocks wouwd wast onwy six weeks, after which Britain wouwd shut down and peopwe wouwd demand concessions. Thatcher reawised she needed at weast a six monds suppwy of coaw to win a strike. In 1982, NUM members accepted a 9.3% pay raise, rejecting deir weaders' caww for a strike.
Most pits proposed for cwosure in 1981 were cwosed on a case-by-case basis by de cowwiery review procedure, and de NCB cut empwoyment by 41,000 between March 1981 and March 1984. The effect of cwosures was wessened by transfers to oder pits and de opening up of de Sewby Coawfiewd where working conditions and wages were rewativewy favourabwe. Locawised strikes occurred at Kinneiw Cowwiery in Scotwand and Lewis Merdyr Cowwiery in Wawes. The industry's Sewect Committee heard dat 36,040 of de 39,685 redundancies between 1973 and 1982 were of men aged 55 and over, and redundancy pay was increased substantiawwy in 1981 and 1983.
The NUM bawwoted its members for nationaw strikes in January 1982, October 1982 and March 1983 regarding pit cwosures and restrained wages and each time a minority voted in favour, weww short of de reqwired 55% majority. In protest at a pay offer of 5.2%, de NUM instituted an overtime ban in November 1983, which remained in pwace at de onset of de strike.
Prime Minister Thatcher expected Scargiww to force a confrontation, and in response she set up a defence in depf. She bewieved dat de excessive costs of increasingwy inefficient cowwieries had to end in order to grow de economy. She pwanned to cwose inefficient pits and depend more on imported coaw, oiw, gas and nucwear. She appointed hardwiners to key positions, set up a high wevew pwanning committee, and awwocated funds from de highwy profitabwe ewectricaw suppwy system to stockpiwe at weast six monds worf of coaw. Thatcher's team set up mobiwe powice units so dat forces from outside de strike areas couwd neutrawise efforts by fwying pickets to stop de transport of coaw to power stations. It used de Nationaw Recording Centre (NRC), set up in 1972 by de Association of Chief Powice Officers for Engwand and Wawes winking 43 powice forces to enabwe powice forces to travew to assist in major disturbances. Scargiww pwayed into her hands by ignoring de buiwdup of coaw stocks and cawwing de strike at de end of winter when demand for coaw was decwining. On de 19 Apriw 1984 a Speciaw Nationaw Dewegate Conference was hewd where dere was a vote wheder to howd a nationaw bawwot or not. The NUM dewegates voted 69-54 not to have a nationaw bawwot, a position argued for by Ardur Scargiww. Scargiww states "Our speciaw conference was hewd on 19 Apriw. McGahey, Headfiewd and I were aware from feedback dat a swight majority of areas favoured de demand for a nationaw strike bawwot; derefore, we were expecting and had prepared for dat course of action wif posters, bawwot papers and weafwets. A major campaign was ready to go for a "Yes" vote in a nationaw strike bawwot." McGahey said: "We shaww not be constitutionawised out of a strike...Area by area wiww decide and dere wiww be a domino effect".
Widout a nationaw bawwot, miners in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Souf Derbyshire, Norf Wawes and parts of Lancashire kept working. The powice provided protection for working miners from aggressive picketing.
In 1983, Thatcher had appointed Ian MacGregor to head de Nationaw Coaw Board. He had turned de British Steew Corporation from one of de weast efficient steew-makers in Europe to one of de most efficient, bringing de company into near profit. Success was achieved at de expense of hawving de workforce in two years and he had overseen a 14-week nationaw strike in 1980. His tough reputation raised expectations dat coaw jobs wouwd be cut on a simiwar scawe and confrontations between MacGregor and Scargiww seemed inevitabwe.
Pit cwosures announced
On 6 March 1984, de NCB announced dat de agreement reached after de 1974 strike was obsowete, and dat to reduce government subsidies, 20 cowwieries wouwd cwose wif a woss of 20,000 jobs. Many communities in Nordern Engwand, Scotwand and Wawes wouwd wose deir primary source of empwoyment.
Scargiww said de government had a wong-term strategy to cwose more dan 70 pits. The government denied de cwaim and MacGregor wrote to every NUM member cwaiming Scargiww was deceiving dem and dere were no pwans to cwose any more pits dan had awready been announced. Cabinet papers reweased in 2014 indicate dat MacGregor wished to cwose 75 pits over a dree-year period. Meanwhiwe, de Thatcher government had prepared against a repeat of de effective 1974 industriaw action by stockpiwing coaw, converting some power stations to burn heavy fuew oiw, and recruiting fweets of road hauwiers to transport coaw in case sympadetic raiwwaymen went on strike to support de miners.
Sensitive to de impact of proposed cwosures, miners in various coawfiewds began strike action, uh-hah-hah-hah. In Yorkshire, miners at Manvers,:86 Cadeby, Siwverwood, Kiveton Park and Yorkshire Main:218 were on unofficiaw strike for oder issues before officiaw action was cawwed. More dan 6,000 miners were on strike from 5 March at Cortonwood and Buwwcwiffe Wood, near Wakefiewd. Neider pit's reserves were exhausted. Buwwcwiffe Wood had been under dreat, but Cortonwood had been considered safe. Action was prompted on 5 March by de NCB's announcement dat five pits wouwd be subject to "accewerated cwosure" in just five weeks; de oder dree were Herrington in County Durham, Snowdown in Kent and Powmaise in Scotwand. The next day, pickets from Yorkshire appeared at pits in Nottinghamshire and Harworf Cowwiery cwosed after a mass infwux of pickets amid cwaims dat Nottinghamshire was "scabwand in 1926". On 12 March 1984, Scargiww decwared de NUM's support for de regionaw strikes in Yorkshire and Scotwand, and cawwed for action from NUM members in aww oder areas but decided not to howd a nationwide vote which was used by his opponents to dewegitimise de strike.
The strike was awmost universawwy observed in Souf Wawes, Yorkshire, Scotwand, Norf East Engwand and Kent, but dere was wess support across de Midwands and in Norf Wawes. Nottinghamshire became a target for aggressive and sometimes viowent picketing as Scargiww's pickets tried to stop wocaw miners from working.:264 Lancashire miners were rewuctant to strike, but most refused to cross picket wines formed by de Yorkshire NUM. Picketing in Lancashire was wess aggressive and is credited wif a more sympadetic response from de wocaw miners.
The 'Battwe of Orgreave' took pwace on 18 June 1984 at de Orgreave Coking Pwant near Roderham, which striking miners were attempting to bwockade. The confrontation, between about 5,000 miners and de same number of powice, broke into viowence after powice on horseback charged wif truncheons drawn – 51 pickets and 72 powicemen were injured. Oder wess weww known, but bwoody, battwes between pickets and powice took pwace, for exampwe, in Mawtby, Souf Yorkshire.
During de strike, 11,291 peopwe were arrested, mostwy for breach of de peace or obstructing roads whiwst picketing, of whom 8,392 were charged and between 150–200 were imprisoned. At weast 9,000 mineworkers were dismissed after being arrested whiwst picketing even when no charges were brought.
After de 1980 steew strike, many hauwiers bwackwisted drivers who refused to cross picket wines to prevent dem obtaining work, and so more drivers crossed picket wines in 1984–85 dan in previous disputes.:144 Picketing faiwed to have de widespread impact of earwier stoppages dat wed to bwackouts and power cuts in de 1970s and ewectricity companies maintained suppwies droughout de winter, de time of biggest demand.
From September, some miners returned to work even where de strike had been universawwy observed. It wed to an escawation of tension, and riots in Easington in Durham and Brampton Bierwow in Yorkshire.
Strike bawwots by NACODS
In Apriw 1984, NACODS voted to strike but was short of de two-dirds majority dat deir constitution reqwired. In areas where de strike was observed, most NACODS members did not cross picket wines and, under an agreement from de 1972 strike, stayed off work on fuww pay. When de number of strikebreakers increased in August, Merrick Spanton, de NCB personnew director, said he expected NACODS members to cross picket wines to supervise deir work dreatening de 1972 agreement which wed to a second bawwot. Ian MacGregor suggested dat deputies couwd be repwaced by outsiders as Ronawd Reagan had done during de 1981 airwine strike. In September, for de first time, NACODS voted to strike wif a vote of 81% in favour.:196  The government den made concessions over de review procedure for unprofitabwe cowwieries, much to de anger of Ian MacGregor, and a deaw negotiated by Norf Yorkshire NCB Director Michaew Eaton persuaded NACODS to caww off de strike action, uh-hah-hah-hah.:197–200
The resuwts of de review procedure were not binding on de NCB, and de NUM rejected de agreement. Reviews for Cadeby in Yorkshire and Bates in Nordumberwand concwuded dat de pits couwd stay open but de NCB overruwed and cwosed dem. The abandonment of strike pwans when most of deir demands had not been met wed to conspiracy deories on de motives of NACODS weaders.
MacGregor water admitted dat if NACODS had gone ahead wif a strike, a compromise wouwd probabwy have been forced on de NCB. Fiwes water made pubwic showed dat de government had an informant inside de Trades Union Congress (TUC), passing information about negotiations.
In 2009, Ardur Scargiww wrote dat de settwement agreed wif NACODS and de NCB wouwd have ended de strike and said, "The monumentaw betrayaw by NACODS has never been expwained in a way dat makes sense."
Court judgments on wegawity of strike
In de first monf of de strike, de NCB secured a court injunction to restrict picketing in Nottinghamshire, but de Energy Minister Peter Wawker forbade Ian MacGregor from invoking it as de government considered it wouwd antagonise de miners and unite dem behind de NUM.:157–158 Legaw chawwenges were brought by groups of working miners, who subseqwentwy organised as de Working Miners' Committee. David Hart, a farmer and property devewoper wif wibertarian powiticaw bewiefs, did much to organise and fund working miners.:157–158 On 25 May, a writ issued in de High Court by Cowin Cwark from Pye Hiww Cowwiery, sponsored by Hart, was successfuw in forbidding de Nottinghamshire area from instructing dat de strike was officiaw and to be obeyed.:165 Simiwar actions were successfuw in Lancashire and Souf Wawes.:165
In September, Lord Justice Nichowws heard two cases, in de first, Norf Derbyshire miners argued dat de strike was iwwegaw bof at area wevew, as a majority of its miners had voted against, and at nationaw wevew, as dere had been no bawwot. In de second, two miners from Manton Cowwiery, in de Yorkshire area but geographicawwy in Norf Nottinghamshire, argued dat de area-wevew strike in Yorkshire was iwwegaw. Miners at Manton had overwhewmingwy voted against de strike, but powice had advised dat deir safety couwd not be guaranteed. The NUM was not represented at de hearing. The High Court ruwed dat de NUM had breached its constitution by cawwing a strike widout howding a bawwot. Awdough Justice Nichowws did not order de NUM to howd a bawwot, he forbade de union from discipwining members who crossed picket wines.
The strike in Yorkshire rewied on a bawwot from January 1981, in which 85.6% of de members voted to strike if any pit was dreatened wif cwosure on economic grounds.:169 The motion was passed wif regard to de cwosure of Orgreave Cowwiery, which prompted a two-week strike.:169 The NUM executive approved de decision in Yorkshire to invoke de bawwot resuwt as binding on 8 March 1984.:169 Mr Justice Nichowws ruwed dat de 1981 bawwot resuwt was "too remote in time [wif]... too much change in de branch membership of de Area since den for dat bawwot to be capabwe of justifying a caww to strike action two and a hawf years water.":171 He ruwed dat de Yorkshire area couwd not refer to de strike as "officiaw", awdough he did not condemn de strike as "iwwegaw" as he did in de case of de nationaw strike and de Norf Derbyshire strike.:171
Scargiww referred to de ruwing as "anoder attempt by an unewected judge to interfere in de union's affairs." He was fined £1,000 (paid by an anonymous businessman), and de NUM was fined £200,000. When de union refused to pay, an order was made to seqwester de union's assets, but dey had been transferred abroad. In October 1984, de NUM executive voted to cooperate wif de court to recover de funds, despite opposition from Scargiww, who stated in court dat he was onwy apowogising for his contempt of court because de executive voted for him to do so.:175–176 By de end of January 1985, around £5 miwwion of NUM assets had been recovered.
A High Court decision in Edinburgh ruwed dat Scottish miners had acted widin deir rights by taking wocaw bawwots on a show of hands and so union funds in Scotwand couwd not be seqwestered. "During de strike, de one area dey couwdn't touch was Scotwand. They were seqwestering de NUM funds, except in Scotwand, because de judges deemed dat de Scottish area had acted widin de ruwes of de Union" – David Hamiwton MP, Midwodian
Scargiww cwaims "It was essentiaw to present a united response to de NCB and we agreed dat, if de coaw board pwanned to force pit cwosures on an area by area basis, den we must respond at weast initiawwy on dat same basis. The NUM's ruwes permitted areas to take officiaw strike action if audorised by our nationaw executive committee in accordance wif Ruwe 41."
The Nottinghamshire NUM officiawwy supported de strike, but most of its members continued to work and many considered de strike unconstitutionaw given deir majority vote against a strike and absence of a bawwot for a nationaw strike.:262 As many working miners fewt de NUM was not doing enough to protect dem from intimidation from pickets, a demonstration was organised on May Day in Mansfiewd, in which de representative Ray Chadburn was shouted down, and fighting ensued between protesters for and against de strike.:264
In NUM ewections in summer 1984, members in Nottinghamshire voted out most of de weaders who had supported de strike, so dat 27 of 31 newwy ewected were opposed to de strike. The Nottinghamshire NUM den opposed de strike openwy and stopped payments to wocaw strikers. The nationaw NUM attempted to introduce "Ruwe 51", to discipwine area weaders who were working against nationaw powicy. The action was nicknamed de "star chamber court" by working miners. It was prevented by an injunction from de High Court.
Working miners in Nottinghamshire and Souf Derbyshire set up a new union: de Union of Democratic Mineworkers. It attracted members from many isowated pits in Engwand – incwuding Agecroft and Parsonage in Lancashire, Chase Terrace and Trenton Workshops in Staffordshire, and Daw Miww in Warwickshire.:274
Awdough most Leicestershire miners continued working, dey voted to stay in de NUM.:276 Unwike Nottinghamshire, de weadership in Leicestershire never attempted to enforce de strike, and an officiaw, Jack Jones, had pubwicwy criticised Scargiww. At some pits in Nottinghamshire, Owwerton, Wewbeck and Cwipstone, roughwy hawf de workforce stayed in de NUM.
The TUC neider recognised nor condemned de new union, uh-hah-hah-hah. The Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM) was eventuawwy de facto recognised when de NCB incwuded it in wage negotiations.:304–305 Ian MacGregor strongwy encouraged de UDM. He announced dat NUM membership was no wonger a prereqwisite for mineworkers' empwoyment, ending de cwosed shop.
The formaw end
The number of strikebreakers, sometimes referred to as scabs, increased from de start of January, as de strikers struggwed to pay for food as union pay ran out. They were not treated wif de same contempt by strikers as dose who had returned to work earwier but in some cowwieries, fights broke out between hunger scabs who had been active pickets, and dose who had broken de strike earwier.
The strike ended on 3 March 1985, nearwy a year after it had begun, uh-hah-hah-hah. The Souf Wawes area cawwed for a return to work on condition dat men sacked during de strike wouwd be reinstated, but de NCB rejected de proposaw when its bargaining position was improved by miners returning to work. Onwy de Yorkshire and Kent regions voted against ending de strike. One of de few concessions made by de NCB was to postpone de cwosure of de five pits: Cortonwood, Buwwcwiffe Wood, Herrington, Powmaise and Snowdown, uh-hah-hah-hah.
The issue of sacked miners was important in Kent, where severaw men had been sacked for a sit-in at Betteshanger Cowwiery. Kent NUM weader Jack Cowwins said after de decision to go back widout any agreement of amnesty for de sacked men, "The peopwe who have decided to go back to work and weave men on de sidewines are traitors to de trade-union movement." The Kent NUM continued picketing across de country, dewaying de return to work at many pits for two weeks. Some sources cwaim dat de Scottish NUM continued de strike awongside Kent.
At severaw pits, miners' wives groups organised de distribution of carnations, de fwower dat symbowises de hero, at de pit gates on de day de miners went back. Many pits marched back to work behind brass bands, in processions dubbed "woyawty parades". Ardur Scargiww wed a procession accompanied by a Scots piper, back to work at Barrow Cowwiery in Worsborough but den it was stopped by a picket of Kent miners. Scargiww said, "I never cross a picket wine," and turned de procession away.
The rowe of bawwots in NUM powicy had been disputed over a number of years, and a series of wegaw disputes in 1977 weft deir status uncwear. In 1977, de impwementation of an incentive scheme proved controversiaw, as different areas wouwd receive different pay rates. After de NUM's Nationaw Executive Conference rejected de scheme, NUM weader Joe Gormwey arranged a nationaw bawwot. The Kent area who opposed de scheme sought a court injunction to prevent it, but Lord Denning ruwed dat "de conference might not have spoken wif de true voice of aww de members and in his view a bawwot was a reasonabwe and democratic proposaw". The scheme was rejected by 110,634 votes to 87,901. The Nottinghamshire, Souf Derbyshire and Leicestershire areas resowved to adopt de incentive scheme as deir members wouwd benefit from increased pay. The Yorkshire, Kent and Souf Wawes areas sought an injunction to prevent dese actions on de grounds of de bawwot resuwt. Mr. Justice Watkins ruwed dat, "The resuwt of a bawwot, nationawwy conducted, is not binding upon de Nationaw Executive Committee in using its powers in between conferences. It may serve to persuade de committee to take one action or anoder, or to refrain from action, but it has no great force or significance."
Scargiww did not caww a bawwot for nationaw strike action, perhaps due to uncertainty over de outcome. Instead, he started de strike by awwowing each region to caww its own strikes, imitating Gormwey's strategy over wage reforms; it was argued dat 'safe' regions shouwd not be awwowed to bawwot oder regions out of jobs. The decision was uphewd by a vote by de NUM executive five weeks into de strike.
The NUM had hewd dree bawwots on nationaw strikes: 55% voted against in January 1982, and 61% voted against in October 1982 and March 1983.:169 Before de March 1983 vote, de Kent area, one of de most miwitant, argued for nationaw strikes to be cawwed by conferences of dewegates rader dan by bawwot, but de proposaw was rejected. As de strike began in 1984 wif unofficiaw action in Yorkshire, dere was pressure from strikers to make it officiaw, and NUM executives who insisted on a bawwot were attacked by pickets at an executive meeting in Sheffiewd in Apriw. In contrast, a sit-in down de pit was hewd by supporters of a bawwot at Hem Heaf in Staffordshire. Awdough de Yorkshire area had a powicy of opposing a nationaw bawwot, dere was opposition by Yorkshire branches at Gwasshoughton, Grimedorpe, Shireoaks and Kinswey.:82
Two powws by MORI in Apriw 1984 found dat de majority of miners supported a strike. Ken Livingstone wrote in his memoirs dat Scargiww had interpreted a Daiwy Maiw poww dat suggested a comfortabwe majority of miners favoured a nationaw strike to be a trick and dat he wouwd actuawwy wose a nationaw bawwot.
In bawwots in Souf Wawes, onwy 10 of de 28 pits voted in favour of striking, but de arrivaw of pickets from Yorkshire wed virtuawwy aww miners in Souf Wawes to strike. The initiaw vote against strike by most wodges in Souf Wawes was interpreted as an act of retawiation for de wack of support from Yorkshire in years when numerous pits in Wawes were cwosing.
Area bawwots on 15 and 16 March saw verdicts against a strike in Cumberwand, Midwands, Norf Derbyshire (narrowwy), Souf Derbyshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire (wif around 90% against), Nottinghamshire and Norf Wawes. The Nordumberwand NUM voted by a smaww majority in favour, but bewow de 55% needed for officiaw approvaw. NUM weaders in Lancashire argued dat, as 41% had voted in favour of a strike, aww its members shouwd strike "in order to maintain unity".
The Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher enforced a waw dat reqwired unions to bawwot members on strike action, uh-hah-hah-hah. On 19 Juwy 1984, Thatcher said in de House of Commons dat giving in to de miners wouwd be surrendering de ruwe of parwiamentary democracy to de ruwe of de mob. She referred to union weaders as "de enemy widin" and cwaimed dey did not share de vawues of oder British peopwe; advocates of de strike misinterpreted de qwote to suggest dat Thatcher had used it as a reference to aww miners.
Thatcher on 19 Juwy 1984 dewivered a speech in which she spoke to backbench MPS and compared de Fawkwands War to de strike:
She cwaimed dat de miners' weader was making de country witness an attempt at preventing democracy.
On de day after de Orgreave picket of 29 May, which saw five dousand pickets cwash viowentwy wif powice, she remarked:
I must teww you... dat what we have got is an attempt to substitute de ruwe of de mob for de ruwe of waw, and it must not succeed. [cheering] It must not succeed. There are dose who are using viowence and intimidation to impose deir wiww on oders who do not want it.... The ruwe of waw must prevaiw over de ruwe of de mob.
We've had riot shiewds, we've had riot gear, we've had powice on horseback charging into our peopwe, we've had peopwe hit wif truncheons and peopwe kicked to de ground.... The intimidation and de brutawity dat has been dispwayed are someding reminiscent of a Latin American state.
At Orgreave de union faiwed to stop de movement of worries. Furdermore, de viowence was costing it pubwic support. A Gawwup poww showed 79% disapprovaw of NUM medods. It was now cwear dat de government had de eqwipment, de forces, de organization, and de wiww to prevaiw against pickets. The number of miners at work grew to 53,000 by wate June.
Votes for strike action by area
The tabwe shows a breakdown by area of de resuwts of strike bawwots of January 1982, October 1982 and March 1983, and de resuwts of area bawwots in March 1984. The tabwe is taken from Cawwinicos & Simons (1985). Cases from 1984 where wodges voted separatewy (as in Souf Wawes and Scotwand) are not shown, uh-hah-hah-hah.
|Area / Groups||Members (approx)||% for strike action, nationaw bawwot of January 1982||% for strike action, nationaw bawwot of October 1982||% for strike action, nationaw bawwot of March 1983||% for strike action, area bawwots of March 1984|
Mobiwisation of powice
The government mobiwised powice forces from around Britain incwuding de Metropowitan Powice in an attempt to stop pickets preventing strikebreakers from working. They attempted to stop pickets travewwing from Yorkshire to Nottinghamshire which wed to many protests. On 26 March 1984, pickets protested against de powice powers by driving very swowwy on de M1 and de A1 around Doncaster. The government cwaimed de actions were to uphowd de waw and safeguard individuaw civiw rights. The powice were given powers to hawt and reroute traffic away from cowwieries, and some areas of Nottinghamshire became difficuwt to reach by road. In de first 27 weeks of de strike, 164,508 "presumed pickets" were prevented from entering de county. When pickets from Kent were stopped at de Dartford tunnew and preventing from travewwing to de Midwands, de Kent NUM appwied for an injunction against use of dis power. Sir Michaew Havers initiawwy denied de appwication outright, but Mr Justice Skinner water ruwed dat de power may onwy be used if de anticipated breach of de peace were "in cwose proximity bof in time and pwace".
On 16 Juwy 1984, Thatcher convened a ministeriaw meeting to consider decwaring a state of emergency, wif de option to use 4,500 miwitary drivers and 1,650 tipper trucks to keep coaw suppwies avaiwabwe. This backup pwan was not needed and was not impwemented.
During de strike 11,291 peopwe were arrested and 8,392 were charged wif breach of de peace or obstructing de highway. In many former mining areas antipady towards de powice remained strong for many years. Baiw forms for picketing offences set restrictions on residence and movement in rewation to NCB property. Tony Benn compared de powers to de raciaw pass waws in Souf Africa.
No wewfare benefit payments
Wewfare benefits had never been avaiwabwe to strikers but deir dependents had been entitwed to make cwaims in previous disputes. Cwause 6 of de 1980 Sociaw Security Act banned de dependents of strikers from receiving "urgent needs" payments and appwied a compuwsory deduction from de benefits of strikers' dependents. The government viewed de wegiswation not as concerned wif saving pubwic funds but "to restore a fairer bargaining bawance between empwoyers and trade unions" by increasing de necessity to return to work. The Department of Sociaw Security assumed dat striking miners were receiving £15 per week from de union, based on payments earwy in de strike dat were not made in de water monds when funds had become exhausted.:220
The Director-Generaw of MI5 from 1992 to 1996, Dame Stewwa Rimington, reveawed in her autobiography in 2001 dat MI5 'counter-subversion' exercises against de NUM and striking miners incwuded tapping union weaders' phones. She denied de agency had informers in de NUM, specificawwy denying its chief executive Roger Windsor had been an agent.
Pubwic opinion and de media
According to John Campbeww "dough dere was widespread sympady for de miners, faced wif de woss of deir wivewihoods, dere was remarkabwy wittwe pubwic support for de strike, because of Scargiww's medods". When asked in a Gawwup poww in Juwy 1984 wheder deir sympadies way mainwy wif de empwoyers or de miners, 40% said empwoyers; 33% were for de miners; 19% were for neider and 8% did not know. When asked de same qwestion during 5–10 December 1984, 51% had most sympady for de empwoyers; 26% for de miners; 18% for neider and 5% did not know. When asked in Juwy 1984 wheder dey approved or disapproved of de medods used by de miners, 15% approved; 79% disapproved and 6% did not know. When asked de same qwestion during 5–10 December 1984, 7% approved; 88% disapproved and 5% did not know. In Juwy 1984, when asked wheder dey dought de miners were using responsibwe or irresponsibwe medods, 12% said responsibwe; 78% said irresponsibwe and 10% did not know. When asked de same qwestion in August 1984, 9% said responsibwe; 84% said irresponsibwe and 7% did not know.
The Sun newspaper took a very anti-strike position, as did de Daiwy Maiw, and even de Labour Party-supporting Daiwy Mirror and The Guardian became hostiwe as de strike became increasingwy viowent.:251–252 The Morning Star was de onwy nationaw daiwy newspaper dat consistentwy supported de striking miners and de NUM.
Sociawist groups considered de mainstream media dewiberatewy misrepresented de miners' strike, saying of The Sun's reporting of de strike: "The day-to-day reporting invowved more subtwe attacks, or a biased sewection of facts and a wack of awternative points of view. These dings arguabwy had a far bigger negative effect on de miners' cause". Writing in de Industriaw Rewations Journaw immediatewy after de strike in 1985, Towers commented on de way de media had portrayed strikers, stating dat dere had been "de obsessive reporting of de 'viowence' of generawwy rewativewy unarmed men and some women who, in de end, offered no serious chawwenge to de truncheons, shiewds and horses of a weww-organised, optimawwy depwoyed powice force."
The stance of de Daiwy Mirror varied. Having initiawwy been uninterested in de dispute, de paper's owner Robert Maxweww took a supportive stance in Juwy 1984 by organising a seaside trip for striking miners and meeting wif NUM officiaws to discuss tactics.:251–252 However, Maxweww insisted dat Scargiww shouwd condemn de viowence directed against strike-breakers, which he was unwiwwing to do.:251–252 The Daiwy Mirror den adopted a more criticaw stance, and journawist John Piwger pubwished severaw articwes on de viowence directed against strike-breakers.:251–252
As de courts seized de NUM's assets, it began to wook abroad for money, and found suppwies in de Soviet bwoc and, it was mistakenwy dought, awso from Libya. These countries were highwy unpopuwar wif de British pubwic. The Soviet Union's officiaw trade union federation donated £1.5 miwwion to de NUM.:228
Media reports awweged dat senior NUM officiaws were personawwy keeping some of de funds. In November 1984, it was awweged dat senior NUM officiaws had travewwed to Libya for money. Cash from de Libyan government was particuwarwy damaging coming seven monds after de murder of powicewoman Yvonne Fwetcher outside de Libyan embassy in London by Libyan agents. In 1990, de Daiwy Mirror and TV programme The Cook Report cwaimed dat Scargiww and de NUM had received money from de Libyan government. The awwegations were based on awwegations by Roger Windsor, who was de NUM officiaw who had spoken to Libyan officiaws. Roy Greenswade, de editor of de Mirror, said 18 years water he was "now convinced dat Scargiww didn't misuse strike funds and dat de union didn't get money from Libya." This was wong after an investigation by Seumas Miwne described de awwegations as whowwy widout substance and a "cwassic smear campaign".
MI5 surveiwwance on NUM vice-president Mick McGahey found he was "extremewy angry and embarrassed" about Scargiww's winks wif de Libyan regime, but did not express his concerns pubwicwy but he was happy to take money from de Soviet Union, uh-hah-hah-hah. Stewwa Rimington, wrote, "We in MI5 wimited our investigations to dose who were using de strike for subversive purposes."
Powish trade union Sowidarity criticised Scargiww for "going too far and dreatening de ewected government", which infwuenced some Powish miners in Britain to oppose de strike. Scargiww opposed Sowidarity as an "anti-sociawist organisation which desires de overdrow of a sociawist state". The suppwy of Powish coaw to British power stations during de strike wed to a brief picket of de Powish embassy in London, uh-hah-hah-hah.
The strike was de most viowent industriaw dispute in Britain of de 20f century. Strikes in de British coaw industry had a history of viowence, but de 1984–85 strike exceeded even de 1926 strike in de wevews of viowence. Neverdewess, de majority of pickets wines were non-viowent. Instances of viowence directed against working miners were reported from de start. The BBC reported dat pickets from Powmaise cowwiery had punched miners at Biwston Gwen who were trying to enter deir workpwace on 12 March. Property, famiwies and pets bewonging to working miners were awso attacked. Ted McKay, de Norf Wawes secretary who supported a nationaw bawwot before strike action, said he had received deaf dreats and dreats to kidnap his chiwdren, uh-hah-hah-hah. The intimidation of working miners in Nottinghamshire, vandawism to cars and pewting dem wif stones, paint or brake fwuid, was a major factor in de formation of de breakaway Union of Democratic Mineworkers.
Occasionawwy, attacks were made on working members of NACODS and administrative staff. In March 1984 de NCB announced it wouwd abandon Yorkshire Main Cowwiery after a deputy engineer suffered a spwit chin from being stoned and administrative staff had to be escorted out by de powice. Some pits continued working widout significant disruption, uh-hah-hah-hah. In Leicestershire onwy 31 miners went on strike for de fuww 12 monds and in Souf Derbyshire onwy 17, but dese areas were not targeted by pickets in de same way as Nottinghamshire.
On 9 Juwy 1984 pickets at Rossington Cowwiery attempted to trap 11 NCB safety inspectors inside de cowwiery. Camera teams were present as two powice vans arrived to assist de safety inspectors and were attacked by missiwes from de pickets.:94
Fowwowing de breakdown of rewations between de NUM and de ISTC (Iron and Steew Trades Confederation), NUM pickets drew bricks, concrete and eggs fuww of paint at worries transporting coaw and iron ore to Souf Wawes.:139 In September 1984, Viv Brook, assistant chief constabwe of Souf Wawes Powice, warned dat drowing concrete from motorway bridges was wikewy to kiww someone. Taxi driver, David Wiwkie, was kiwwed on 30 November 1984 whiwe driving a non-striking miner to Merdyr Vawe Cowwiery, in Souf Wawes. Two striking miners dropped a concrete post onto his car from a road bridge and he died at de scene. The miners served a prison sentence for manswaughter. Powice reported dat de incident had a sobering effect on many of de pickets and wed to a decrease in aggression, uh-hah-hah-hah.
In Airedawe, Castweford where most miners were on strike, a working miner, Michaew Fwetcher, was savagewy beaten in November 1984. A masked gang waving basebaww bats invaded his house and beat him for five minutes, whiwst his pregnant wife and chiwdren hid upstairs. Fwetcher suffered a broken shouwder bwade, diswocated ewbow and two broken ribs. Two miners from Wakefiewd were convicted of causing grievous bodiwy harm and four oders were acqwitted of riot and assauwt.
Scargiww said in December 1984 dat dose who returned to work after taking de NCB's incentives for strikebreaking shouwd be treated as "wost wambs" rader dan traitors. When qwestioned by de media, Scargiww refused to condemn de viowence, which he attributed to de hardship and frustration of pickets, wif de one exception being de kiwwing of David Wiwkie. There was criticism of picket-wine viowence from wodges at striking pits, such as de resowution by de Grimedorpe and Kewwingwey wodges in Yorkshire dat condemned drowing bricks.
Even amongst supporters, picketing steew pwants to prevent dewiveries of coaw and coke caused great divisions. Locaw branches agreed deaws wif wocaw steew pwants on de amounts to be dewivered. In June 1984, de NUM area weader for Souf Wawes, Emwyn Wiwwiams, defied orders from Scargiww to stop dewiveries of coaw by raiw to steew pwants, but he capituwated after a vote by de nationaw executive to end dispensations.
Viowence in Nottinghamshire was directed towards strikers or supporters of de NUM nationaw wine. NUM secretary Jimmy Hood reported his car was vandawised and his garage set on fire. In Leicestershire, scab was chanted at de working majority against de few who went on strike, on de grounds dat dey had betrayed deir area's union, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Two pickets, David Jones and Joe Green, were kiwwed in separate incidents, and dree teenagers (Darren Howmes, aged 15, and Pauw Howmes and Pauw Womerswey, bof aged 14) died picking coaw from a cowwiery waste heap in de winter. The NUM names its memoriaw wectures after de pickets. Jones's deaf raised tensions between strikers and dose who continued to work. On 15 March 1984, he was hit in de chest by a hawf-brick drown by a youf who opposed de strike when he confronted him for vandawising his car, but de post-mortem ruwed dat dis had not caused his deaf and it was more wikewy to have been caused by being pressed against de pit gates earwier in de day. News of his deaf wed to hundreds of pickets staying in Owwerton town centre overnight. At de reqwest of Nottinghamshire Powice, Scargiww appeared and cawwed for cawm in de wake of de tragedy. Severaw working miners in Owwerton reported dat deir gardens and cars had been vandawised during de night. Owwerton Cowwiery cwosed for a few days as a mark of respect for Jones.
Powicing was extensive from de start, a powicy to avoid de probwems of 1972, when de powice were overwhewmed by de number of pickets at de so-cawwed Battwe of Sawtwey Gate. Many famiwies in Souf Yorkshire compwained dat de powice were abusive and damaged property needwesswy whiwst pursuing pickets.:120,247
During de Battwe of Orgreave, tewevision cameras caught a powiceman repeatedwy washing out at a picket on his head wif a truncheon but no charges were made against de officer, identified as a member of Nordumbria Powice. The heavy-handed powicing at Orgreave, incwuding from some senior officers was criticised.:101 At de 1985 Powice Federation conference, Ronawd Carroww from West Yorkshire Powice argued dat, "The powice were used by de Coaw Board to do aww deir dirty work. Instead of seeking de civiw remedies under de existing civiw waw, dey rewied compwetewy on de powice to sowve deir probwems by impwementing de criminaw waw.":100 A motion at de 1984 Labour Party conference won heavy support for bwaming aww de viowence in de strike on de powice, despite opposition from Kinnock.
Union funds struggwed to cover de year-wong strike, so strikers had to raise deir own funds. The Kent area's effective fundraising from sympadisers in London and in continentaw Europe was resented by oder areas.:229 The Yorkshire area's rewiance on mass picketing wed to a negwect of fundraising, and many Yorkshire strikers were wiving in poverty by de winter of 1984. A soup kitchen opened in Yorkshire in Apriw 1984, for de first time since de 1920s. Wakefiewd Counciw provided free meaws for chiwdren during schoow howidays. The Labour-dominated counciws of Barnswey, Doncaster, Roderham and Wakefiewd reduced counciw-house rents and wocaw tax rates for striking miners, but de Conservative Sewby Counciw refused any assistance, awdough de Sewby pits had higher numbers of commuters.
In Leicestershire, de area's NUM made no payments to de few who went on strike, on de grounds dat de area had voted against industriaw action, uh-hah-hah-hah. Fundraising for de so-cawwed "Dirty Thirty" striking Leicestershire miners was extensive and dey redirected some of deir excess aid to oder parts of de NUM. Many wocaw businesses in pit viwwages donated money to NUM funds, awdough some cwaimed dey were dreatened wif boycotts or vandawism if dey did not contribute.:220
Lesbians and Gays Support de Miners hewd "Pits and Perverts" concerts to raise money which wed de NUM to become supportive of gay rights in subseqwent years. Some groups prioritised aid to pits in Souf Wawes, as dey fewt dat Scargiww was distributing donations in favour of de more miwitant pits in Kent or Yorkshire. The ISTC donated food parcews and toys during de summer, but gave no money as dey did not want to be accused of financing de aggressive picketing.
Women Against Pit Cwosures
In de earwy weeks of de strike, de media reported dat miners' wives in Nottinghamshire were encouraging deir husbands to defy de fwying pickets and were against de strike. In response, a group of miners' wives and girwfriends who supported de strike set up a network dat became known as Women Against Pit Cwosures. The support groups organised cowwections outside supermarkets, communaw kitchens, benefit concerts and oder activities. The strike marked an important devewopment in de traditionaw mining heartwands, where feminist ideas had not been strong.
Variation in observing de strike
The figures bewow are given in Richards (1996). It shouwd be noted dat de figures of working and striking miners were an issue of controversy droughout de dispute, and some oder sources give figures dat contradict Richards's tabwe.
|Area||Manpower||% on strike 19 November 1984||% on strike 14 February 1985||% on strike 1 March 1985|
No figures are avaiwabwe for de 1000 NCB staff empwoyees.
Widin de warge Yorkshire area, dere was regionaw variation in observing de strike: miners from de Doncaster area were considerabwy more miwitant dan dose from mines in Norf Yorkshire.
At de Souf Leicester cowwiery, dere was reportedwy onwy one miner who stayed on strike for de fuww 12 monds.
Anawysis of de situation in Nottinghamshire
A number of reasons have been advanced for de wack of support by de Nottinghamshire miners for de strike. It was compared to de return to work wed by George Spencer in de 1926 coaw strike, but Nottinghamshire had gone on strike awongside oder regions in 1972 and 1974. Oder expwanations incwude de perception dat Nottinghamshire pits were safe from de dreat of cwosure, as dey had warge reserves, and de area-wevew incentive scheme introduced by Tony Benn caused dem to be amongst de best-paid in Britain, uh-hah-hah-hah.
David Amos noted dat some pits in Nottinghamshire cwosed in de earwy 1980s. He argues dat Nottinghamshire miners reacted in de same way in 1984 as dey did to de unofficiaw strikes in 1969 and 1970, bof of which saw bwockading of Nottinghamshire pits by striking miners from Souf Yorkshire and bof of which were regarded as unconstitutionaw under NUM ruwes.
As de Nottinghamshire cowwieries had attracted dispwaced miners from Scotwand and de norf-east in de 1960s, it has been argued dat dey were rewuctant to strike to stop pit cwosures when dere had been no action to save deir home pits from cwosure. A warge Powish community in Nottinghamshire (especiawwy Owwerton) had been awienated by Scargiww's powicy of supporting de Communist government in Powand against de Sowidarity union, which de NUM previouswy had supported. David John Dougwass, a branch dewegate at Hatfiewd Cowwiery dismissed de suggestions as de Doncaster pits awso had warge numbers of dispwaced and Powish miners, yet de it was amongst de most miwitant areas of de NUM.
Nottinghamshire NUM executive Henry Richardson argued dat de Nottinghamshire miners wouwd have probabwy voted for strike had dey not been subjected to so much intimidation widin days of de wawk-out in Yorkshire, which prompted many to defy de Yorkshire pickets as a matter of principwe. At some pits, most miners initiawwy refused to cross picket wines formed by Wewsh miners but returned to work when more aggressive pickets arrived from Yorkshire.:98 After de strike, Mick McGahey, one of de most prominent voices against a nationaw bawwot, said dat he accepted "some responsibiwity" for awienating de Nottinghamshire miners drough aggressive picketing.:98 Jonadan and Ruf Winterton have suggested dat de greater success of picketing in Lancashire, a region wif wittwe tradition of miwitancy, might be ascribed to de more cautious tactics of de Norf Yorkshire area of de NUM, which worked wif wocaw officiaws in Lancashire to coordinate respectfuw picketing, in contrast to de aggressive tactics adopted by de Doncaster NUM in Nottinghamshire. The Marxist academic Awex Cawwinicos has suggested dat de NUM officiaws had faiwed to make de case to deir members adeqwatewy and bewieves dat de Nottinghamshire miners were simpwy ignorant of de issues.
Responses to de strike
The opposition Labour Party was divided in its attitude, its weader Neiw Kinnock, whose wate fader had been a miner, was criticaw of de government's handwing of de strike, but distanced himsewf from de weadership of de NUM over de issues of de bawwot and viowence against strikebreakers.:6 Kinnock water said dat it was "de greatest regret of [his] whowe wife" dat he did not caww for a nationaw bawwot at an earwier stage. He condemned de actions of pickets and powice as "viowence", which prompted a statement from de Powice Federation dat some officers wouwd struggwe to work under a Labour government. He appeared on a picket wine on 3 January 1985, after having said in November dat he was "too busy".
Kinnock appeared at a Labour Party rawwy awongside Scargiww in Stoke-on-Trent on 30 November 1984 - de day of de kiwwing of David Wiwkie. His speech devewoped into an argument wif heckwers who saw him as having betrayed de NUM by faiwing to support de strike. Kinnock began by saying, "We meet here tonight in de shadow of an outrage." When interrupted, Kinnock accused de heckwers of "wiving wike parasites off de struggwe of de miners." As Kinnock denounced de wack of de bawwot, viowence against strikebreakers and Scargiww's tacticaw approach, he was asked by heckwers what he had done for de striking miners. Kinnock shouted back, "Weww, I was not tewwing dem wies. That's what I was not doing during dat period." It was a dinwy-veiwed attack on Scargiww, whom he water admitted dat he detested.
Former party weader and prime minister James Cawwaghan said dat a bawwot was needed to decide when to end de strike and return to work. Tony Benn was vocaw in support of Scargiww's weadership during de strike.:300 In addition, 12 weft-wing MPs refused to sit down in de Commons in January in an attempt to force a debate on de strike.
The Communist Party supported de strike and opposed Thatcher's government, but expressed reservations about Scargiww's tactics. Peter Carter said dat Scargiww had "de idea dat de miners couwd win de strike awone drough a re-run of Sawtwey Gate".:298 The 39f congress of de party passed a motion dat de strike couwd not succeed widout sympady from de wider pubwic and oder unions, and dat de aggressive picketing was dividing de working cwass and awienating pubwic support.:299
In contrast to de cwose cooperation wif de Trades Union Congress in de 1970s, de NUM never asked de TUC to support de strike and wrote at de outset to say dat, "No reqwest is being made by dis union for de intervention or assistance of de TUC.":129–131 Scargiww diswiked Len Murray and bwamed de TUC for de faiwure of de 1926 Generaw Strike.:130 Part way drough de strike, Norman Wiwwis took over from Murray as generaw secretary of de TUC. He attempted to repair rewations between Scargiww and Kinnock, but to no avaiw. When speaking in a miners' haww in November 1984, Wiwwis condemned de viowence and advocated a compromise, which wed to a noose being wowered swowwy from de rafters untiw it rested cwose to his head.
The NUM had a "Tripwe Awwiance" wif de Iron and Steew Trades Confederation (ISTC) and de raiwway unions. Sowidarity action was taken by raiwway workers and few crossed picket wines,:150 but de NUM never asked de raiwway unions to strike.:136 In contrast, Scargiww demanded dat steew workers not cross miners' picket wines and onwy work to keep furnaces in order.:137–138 Biww Sirs of de ISTC fewt dat Scargiww was reneging on an agreement to dewiver coke. British Steew was pwanning to cwose a steew pwant and steew workers feared dat support for de strikers might make cwosure more wikewy.
The Nationaw Union of Seamen supported de strike and wimited de transport of coaw. The decision was taken by a dewegates' conference and not audorised by an individuaw bawwot. Transport weaders, Ross Evans and Ron Todd, supported de NUM "widout reservation", but an increasing proportion of drivers were not unionised and dey faiwed to have much infwuence. The Ewectricaw, Ewectronic, Tewecommunications and Pwumbing Union, activewy opposed de strike; Ian MacGregor's autobiography detaiwed how its weaders suppwied de government wif information dat awwowed de strike to be defeated. The EETPU was supportive of de breakaway Union of Democratic Mineworkers and met wif its weaders before de TUC had extended formaw recognition, uh-hah-hah-hah.
During de strike, many pits wost deir customers and de immediate probwem facing de industry was due to de economic recession in de earwy-1980s. There was extensive competition in de worwd coaw market and a concerted move towards oiw and gas for power production, uh-hah-hah-hah. The government's powicy, de Ridwey Pwan, was to reduce Britain's rewiance on coaw cwaiming it couwd be imported from Austrawia, de United States and Cowombia more cheapwy dan it couwd be produced in Britain, uh-hah-hah-hah. The strike embowdened de NCB to accewerate de cwosure of pits on economic grounds.
Tensions between strikers and dose who worked continued after de return to work. Many strikebreakers weft de industry and were shunned or attacked by oder miners. Awmost aww de strikebreakers in Kent had weft de industry by Apriw 1986, after suffering numerous attacks on deir homes. At Betteshanger Cowwiery, posters were put up wif photographs and names of de dirty strikebreakers. A wiwdcat strike at Souf Kirkby Cowwiery was supported by neighbouring Ferrymoor-Riddings on 30 Apriw 1985 after four men were dismissed for attacks on strikebreakers, and anoder wiwdcat strike occurred at Hatfiewd Cowwiery in Apriw 1986 after it emerged dat dere was a strikebreaker had not been transferred away from de pit. In contrast, oder pits dat had been divided by de strike managed to work widout any harassment.
The NCB was accused of deserting de strikebreakers, as abuse, dreats and assauwts continued, and reqwests for transfers to oder pits were decwined. Michaew Eaton argued dat "a decision to return to work was a personaw decision on de part of de individuaw."
Miners were demorawised and sought work in oder industries. Scargiww's audority in de NUM was chawwenged and his cawws for anoder strike in 1986 were ignored.:303 Mick McGahey, who was woyaw to Scargiww during de strike, became criticaw of him. McGahey cwaimed de weadership was becoming separated from its membership, de viowence had gone too far and argued for reconciwiation wif de UDM.:98,303 Scargiww said dat it was a "tragedy dat peopwe from de far norf shouwd pontificate about what we shouwd be doing to win back members for de NUM.":303 Scargiww became president of de NUM for wife in 1985.:171–172
In de aftermaf of de strike, miners were offered warge redundancy payments in bawwots organised by de NCB and de offers were accepted even at de most miwitant pits. The manager of de miwitant Yorkshire Main Cowwiery said at de time of de pit's vote to cwose in October 1985, "I know peopwe who abused us and dreatened us on de picket wine and den were de first to put in for redundancy.":239
The coaw industry was privatised in December 1994 creating "R.J.B. Mining", subseqwentwy known as UK Coaw. Between de end of de strike and privatisation, pit cwosures continued wif many cwosures in de earwy-1990s. There were 15 British Coaw deep mines weft in production at de time of privatisation, but by March 2005, dere were onwy eight deep mines weft. Since den, de wast pit in Nordumberwand, Ewwington Cowwiery has cwosed whiwst pits at Rossington and Harworf have been modbawwed. In 1983, Britain had 174 working cowwieries; by 2009 dere were six. The wast deep cowwiery in de UK, Kewwingwey Cowwiery, known wocawwy as "The Big K" cwosed for de wast time on 18 December 2015, bringing an end to centuries of deep coaw mining.
The 1994 European Union inqwiry into poverty cwassified Grimedorpe in Souf Yorkshire as de poorest settwement in de country and one of de poorest in de EU. Souf Yorkshire became an Objective 1 devewopment zone and every ward in de City of Wakefiewd district was cwassified as in need of speciaw assistance.
In de 2016 Brexit referendum, cities and regions at de heart of de dispute voted by a majority to weave. Scargiww, a supporter of weaving de EU, cwaimed dat de Brexit vote presented an opportunity to re-open cwosed coaw mines.
Many historians have provided interpretations and expwanations of de defeat, wargewy centring on Scargiww's decisions.
- Numerous schowars have concwuded dat Scargiww's decisive tacticaw error was to substitute his famous fwying picket for de howding of a nationaw strike bawwot. His powicy divided de NUM membership, undermined his position wif de weaders of de trade union movement, hurt de union's reputation in British pubwic opinion, and wed to viowence awong de picket wine. That viowence strengdened de stature of de Coaw Board and de Thatcher government.
- Robert Taywor depicts Scargiww as an 'industriaw Napoweon' who cawwed a strike 'at de wrong time' on de 'wrong issue', and adopted strategies and tactics dat were 'impossibiwist', wif 'an infwexibwe wist of extravagant non-negotiabwe demands' dat amounted to 'reckwess adventurism' dat was 'a dangerous, sewf-defeating dewusion'.
- Historian Andrew Marr argues dat:
- Many found Scargiww inspiring; many oders found him frankwy scary. He had been a Communist and retained strong Marxist views and a penchant for denouncing anyone who disagreed wif him as a traitor.... Scargiww had indeed been ewected by a vast margin and he set about turning de NUM's once moderate executive into rewiabwy miwitant group..... By adopting a position dat no pits shouwd be cwosed on economic grounds, even if de coaw was exhausted...he made sure confrontation wouwd not be avoided. Exciting, witty Ardur Scargiww brought coawmining to a cwose in Britain far faster dan wouwd have happened had de NUM been wed by some prevaricating, dreary owd-stywe union hack.
- In a book pubwished by de Nationaw Coaw Mining Museum for Engwand, David John Dougwass argues dat too much focus has been put on de personawity of Scargiww and not enough on de decision of de Yorkshire NUM to invoke de area's 1981 bawwot resuwt to strike against economic cwosures.
- There is a prevaiwing view dat Ardur Scargiww, de NUM Nationaw President, cawwed de strike. He did not. The strike started in Yorkshire, and he was not present at de dewegate Counciw meeting in Barnswey. He had no means of cawwing a strike in Yorkshire.
In January 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron stated, "I dink if anyone needs to make an apowogy for deir rowe in de miners' strike it shouwd be Ardur Scargiww for de appawwing way dat he wed de union, uh-hah-hah-hah." This was in de Prime Minister's rejection of Labour cawws for an apowogy for government actions during de 1984–85 miners' strike. His comments fowwowed a qwestion in de Commons from Labour MP Lisa Nandy, who said de miners and deir famiwies deserved an apowogy for de mine cwosures.
Fiwms and tewevision
Independent fiwmmakers documented de strike incwuding de behaviour of de powice, de rowe of miners' wives and de rowe of de media. The outcome was de Miner's Campaign Tapes.
Ken Loach made dree fiwms about de strike. Which Side Are You On? focussed on music and poetry was made for The Souf Bank Show but was rejected on de grounds dat it was too powiticawwy partiaw for an arts programme. After winning an award at an Itawian fiwm festivaw, it was broadcast on Channew 4 on 9 January 1985. End of de Battwe... Not de End of de War? (1985) suggested dat de Conservative Party pwanned tactics for defeating de NUM from de earwy 1970s. The Ardur Legend, broadcast for Dispatches on Channew 4 in 1991, anawysed awwegations of financiaw impropriety and winks wif Libya against Ardur Scargiww, and argued dat de cwaims made by de Daiwy Mirror and de Cook Report were basewess.
The 2000 fiwm Biwwy Ewwiot, set in 1984, was based around mining communities in Easington Cowwiery and Seaham. The fader and broder of de titwe character are striking miners. Severaw scenes depict de chaos at picket wines, cwashes between armies of powice and striking miners, and de shame associated wif crossing de picket wine. It showed de abject poverty associated wif de strike and de harshness and desperation of not having coaw for heat in winter. The fiwm was turned into a musicaw, Biwwy Ewwiot de Musicaw by Ewton John.
The 1996 fiwm Brassed Off was set 10 years after de strike in de era when numerous pits cwosed before de privatisation of British Coaw. The fiwm refers to de strike and some of de diawogue contrasts de resistance in 1984 wif de resignation wif which most miners responded to de pit cwosures of de earwy 1990s. It was set in de fictionaw town of Grimwey, a din disguise for de hard-hit ex-mining viwwage of Grimedorpe, where some of it was fiwmed.
The satiricaw Comic Strip Presents episode "The Strike" (1988) depicts an ideawistic Wewsh screenwriter's growing dismay as his hard-hitting and grittiwy reawistic script about de strike is mutiwated by a Howwywood producer into an aww-action driwwer. The fiwm parodies Howwywood fiwms by overdramatising de strike and changing most of de important historic facts. It won a Gowden Rose and Press Reward at de Montreux Festivaw.
The "1984" episode of de 1996 BBC tewevision drama seriaw Our Friends in de Norf revowves around de strike, and scenes of cwashes between de powice and strikers were re-created using many men who had taken part in de reaw-wife events on de miners' side. In 2005, BBC One broadcast de one-off drama Faif, written by Wiwwiam Ivory. Many of de sociaw scenes were fiwmed in de former cowwiery town of Thorne, near Doncaster. It viewed de strike from de perspective of bof de powice and de miners.
The British fiwm The Big Man casts Liam Neeson as a Scottish coawminer who has been unempwoyed since de strike. His character has been bwackwisted due to striking a powice officer and has served a six-monf prison sentence for de offence.
David Peace's novew GB84 is set during de strike.
Kay Sutcwiffe, de wife of a striking miner at Aywesham, wrote de poem "Coaw not Dowe", which became popuwar wif de Women Against Pit Cwosures groups across de country and was water made into a song by Norma Waterson, uh-hah-hah-hah.
The verse novew Hope Now by A. L. Richards, pubwished 2013 by Landfox Press, is set in de Souf Wawes Vawweys and is based on events during de strike.
In 2001, British visuaw artist Jeremy Dewwer worked wif historicaw societies, battwe re-enactors, and peopwe who participated in de viowent 1984 cwashes between picketers and powice to reconstruct and re-enact de Battwe of Orgreave. A documentary about de re-enactment was produced by Dewwer and director Mike Figgis and was broadcast on British tewevision; and Dewwer pubwished a book cawwed The Engwish Civiw War Part II documenting bof de project and de historicaw events it investigates.
On 5 March 2010, de 25f anniversary of de strike, an artwork by visuaw artist Dan Savage was unveiwed in Sunderwand Civic Centre. Commissioned by Sunderwand City Counciw, Savage worked wif de Durham Miners Association to create de warge scawe commemorative window, which features images and symbows of de strike and de Norf East's mining heritage. In August 1984, photographer Keif Pattison was commissioned by Sunderwand's Artists' Agency to photograph de strike in Easington Cowwiery for a monf. He remained dere on and off untiw it ended in March 1985, photographing from behind de wines a community rawwying togeder against impwacabwe opposition, uh-hah-hah-hah. Twenty-five years water, on 6 May 2010, Ewection Day, Pattison took David Peace to Easington to interview dree of de peopwe caught up in de strike. A sewection of de photographs togeder wif de interviews were pubwished in book form – 'No Redemption' (Fwambard Press)
The strike is de subject of songs by many music groups incwuding de Manic Street Preachers' "A Design for Life", and "1985", from de awbum Lifebwood; Puwp's "Last day of de miners' strike"; Funeraw for a Friend's "History", and Ewan MacCoww's cassette of pro-NUM songs Daddy, What did you do in de strike?. Sting recorded a song about de strike cawwed "We Work de Bwack Seam" for his first sowo awbum, The Dream of de Bwue Turtwes, in 1985. Biwwy Bragg's version of "Which Side Are You On?", encapsuwated de strikers' feewing of betrayaw by de perceived indifference of wider ewements widin British society. Bragg raised awareness drough his music and disagreement wif de Thatcher government.
The sound of de Miners Strike features at de start of The Smids 1987 song Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me. However dis version onwy appears on de awbum Strangeways, Here We Come and not de singwe edit which has made subseqwent compiwation awbums.
Throughout de strike, de Souf London group Test Dept travewwed on deir "battwe bus" to Yorkshire, Durham, Nordumberwand, Paddington and Gwasgow. They fiwmed images of de strike in one town and showed at deir next gig, where dey met de miners, joined pickets and raised funds. The songs of de Souf Wawes Striking Miners' Choir and de speeches of Kent miner Awan Sutcwiffe are incwuded on deir 1985 awbum Shouwder to Shouwder.
Chris Cutwer, Tim Hodgkinson and Lindsay Cooper from Henry Cow, awong wif Robert Wyatt and poet Adrian Mitcheww recorded The Last Nightingawe in October 1984 to raise money for de strikers and deir famiwies.
The strike saw de resurgence of traditionaw fowk songs about coaw mining. Dick Gaughan reweased a mixture of owd and new songs on his LP True and Bowd. An owd Nordumbrian fowk song, "Bwackweg Miner" gained attention when recorded by Steeweye Span in 1970 and was pwayed to show support for de NUM and intimidate strikebreakers.
The awbum Every Vawwey from Pubwic Service Broadcasting is based on de history of de mining industry in Wawes, more specificawwy chronicwing de rise and decwine of de country's coaw industry, de miners' strike pways a huge rowe on de awbum.
- Betty Headfiewd
- Kiwwing of David Wiwkie
- Peter Headfiewd
- Lesbians Against Pit Cwosures
- Music for Miners
- Pubwic Order Act 1986
- Winter of Discontent
- She used de term in cwosed tawks in Juwy 1984. The phrase was widewy reported and was used by Seumas Miwne as de titwe of his 2004 book: Miwne, Seumas (2004). The Enemy Widin: The Secret War Against de Miners. Verso. p. 23.
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In 1984 dis tradition derived not from 1926, but from more recent unofficiaw disputes of 1969, 1970 and to some extent 1981. As de evidence in Chapter 5 shows, de reaction in many parts of de Nottingham Area of de NUM to de 1984–85 strike was de same as it had been to de unofficiaw disputes of de past; dey were seen as being unconstitutionaw and unaudorised.
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Surveys and anawysis
- Adeney, Martin, and John Lwoyd. The Miners' Strike, 1984–5: Loss Widout Limit (Routwedge, 1988).
- Beckett, Francis and David Beckett. Marching to de Fauwt Line: The Miners' Strike and de Battwe for Industriaw Britain (Hachette UK, 2009). ISBN 978-1-84529-614-8.
- Buckwey, Sheryw Bernadette. "The state, de powice and de judiciary in de miners' strike: Observations and discussions, dirty years on, uh-hah-hah-hah." Capitaw & Cwass 39#3 (2015): 419–434.
- Cawwinicos, Awex; Simons, Mike. The great strike: de miners strike of 1984–5 and its wessons. London: Sociawist Worker. ISBN 0-905998-50-2.
- Couwter, Jim; Miwwer, Susan; Wawker, Martin (1984). State of Siege: Miners' Strike, 1984 – Powitics and Powicing in de Coaw Fiewds. Canary Press. ISBN 0-9509967-0-X.
- MacGregor, Ian (1986). The Enemies Widin: The Story of de Miners' Strike 1984–5. Wiwwiam Cowwins. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-00-217706-1.
- Miwne, Seumas (1994). The Enemy Widin: The Secret War Against de Miners. London: Verso. ISBN 978-1-84467-508-1. Pages 18–19 give detaiws of de 1991 payouts to miners from de Battwe of Orgreave.
- Peter, Gibbon, uh-hah-hah-hah. "Anawysing de British miners' strike of 1984–5." Economy and Society 17.2 (1988): 139–194.
- Phiwwips, Jim. "Deindustriawization and de Moraw Economy of de Scottish Coawfiewds, 1947 to 1991." Internationaw Labor and Working-Cwass History 84#1 (2013): 99–115. onwine
- Poweww, David. The Power Game: The Struggwe for Coaw (London, 1993).
- Richards, Andrew J. Miners on Strike: Cwass Sowidarity and Division in Britain (Oxford, 1996).
- Towers, Brian, uh-hah-hah-hah. "Posing Larger Questions: The British Miners' Strike of 1984–85", Industriaw Rewations Journaw 16#2 (1985), pp. 8–25.
- Towers, Brian, uh-hah-hah-hah. "Running de gauntwet: British trade unions under Thatcher, 1979–1988." Industriaw & Labor Rewations Review 42#2 (1989): 163–188. onwine
- Vinen, Richard. Thatcher's Britain: The Powitics and Sociaw Upheavaw of de Thatcher Era (2010) ch 7.
- Awwen, V. L. "The year-wong miners' strike, March 1984 – March 1985: a memoir." Industriaw Rewations Journaw 40.4 (2009): 278–291.
- Burgess, Cowin, uh-hah-hah-hah. The Miners` Strike 1984–85 (Yate & District Labour History Group)
- Howden, Triona (2005). Queen Coaw, Women of de Miners' Strike. Sutton Pubwishing. ISBN 0-7509-3971-0.
- Hutton, Gudrie (2009). Coaw Not Dowe – Memories of de 1984/85 Miners' Strike. Catrine: Stenwake Pubwishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-329-9.
- Isaac, Ian, uh-hah-hah-hah. When We Were Miners (Ken Smif Press, 2010), primary source.
- Kewwiher, Diarmaid. "Sowidarity and Sexuawity: Lesbians and Gays Support de Miners 1984–5." History Workshop Journaw (2014). 77#1 pp. 240–262. doi: 10.1093/hwj/dbt012
- Nationaw Union of Mineworkers. A Century of Struggwe: Britain's Miners in Pictures 1889–1989 (Sheffiewd, 1989), primary source.
- Parker, Tony (1986). Red Hiww, A Mining Community. Coronet Books. ISBN 0-340-42365-X. Compiwation of eyewitness accounts of de miners' strike from bof sides
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- Spence, Jean, and Carow Stephenson, uh-hah-hah-hah. "Femawe invowvement in de miners' strike 1984–1985: Trajectories of activism." Sociowogicaw Research Onwine 12#1 (2007). onwine
- Spence, Jean, and Carow Stephenson, uh-hah-hah-hah. ""Side by Side Wif Our Men?" Women's Activism, Community, and Gender in de 1984–1985 British Miners' Strike." Internationaw Labor and Working-Cwass History 75#1 (2009): 68–84. onwine
- Stephenson, Carow, and Jean Spence. "Pies and essays: women writing drough de British 1984–1985 coaw miners' strike." Gender, Pwace & Cuwture 20#2 (2013): 218–235.
- Symcox, Jonadon, ed. The 1984–85 Miners' Strike in Nottinghamshire: If Spirit awone won Battwes, The Diary of John Lowe (Barnswey, 2011); primary source.
- Whywes, Stephen, uh-hah-hah-hah. A Scab is no Son of Mine (2014); excerpt, growing up in a mining community and crossing de picket wine in de 1984 dispute; ISBN 978-1-4990-8957-8
- Campbeww, Adrian, and Mawcowm Warner. "Leadership in de Miners Union – Scargiww, Ardur Rise to Power." Journaw of Generaw Management 10.3 (1985): 4–22.
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- Moore, Charwes. Margaret Thatcher: At her zenif; in London, Washington, and Moscow (2016) pp. 142–82.
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- Phiwwips, Jim. "Containing, Isowating, and Defeating de Miners: The UK Cabinet Ministeriaw Group on Coaw and de Three Phases of de 1984–85 Strike." Historicaw Studies in Industriaw Rewations 35 (2014): 117–141.
- Reicher, Stephen, and Nicowas Hopkins. "Sewf-category constructions in powiticaw rhetoric; an anawysis of Thatcher's and Kinnock's speeches concerning de British miners' strike (1984–5)." European Journaw of Sociaw Psychowogy 26#3 (1996): 353–371.
- Routwedge, Pauw. Scargiww: de unaudorized biography (HarperCowwins, 1993).
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- Thatcher, Margaret. The Downing Street Years (1993) ch. 13.
- Wiwsher, Peter, Donawd Macintyre, and Michaew CE Jones, eds. Strike: Thatcher, Scargiww and de miners (A. Deutsch, 1985)
Regionaw and wocaw studies
- Amos, David. "The Nottinghamshire miners, de Union of Democratic Mineworkers and de 1984–85 miners strike: scabs or scapegoats?" (PhD Dissertation, U of Nottingham, 2012). onwine; bibwiography pp. 349–63.
- Bardiww, Linda, 'Changing perceptions of de 1984–85 Miners' Strike in de Nottinghamshire Coawfiewd', Journaw of Regionaw and Locaw Studies 22#2 (2003), pp. 47–63.
- Burgess, Cowin, uh-hah-hah-hah. The Miners` Strike 1984–85 (Yate & District Labour History Group)
- Curtis, Ben, uh-hah-hah-hah. The Souf Wawes Miners: 1964–1985 (University of Wawes Press, 2013).
- Francis, Hyweww. History on our sides: Wawes and de 1984–85 Miners' Strike (Fern back, 2009).
- Giwdart, Keif. Norf Wawes Miners: A Fragiwe Unity 1945–2006 (Studies in Wewsh History), (Cardiff, 2001).
- Griffin, Cowin P. The Leicestershire Miners Vowume III: 1945–1988 (Leicester, 1988).
- Morgan, W. J. and K. Coates. The Nottinghamshire Coawfiewd and de British Miners' Strike 1984–85 (Nottingham, 1989).
- Peace, David (2005). GB84. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-22174-2. A novew.
- Winterton, Jonadan, and Ruf Winterton, uh-hah-hah-hah. Coaw, crisis and confwict: de 1984–85 miners' strike in Yorkshire (Manchester University Press, 1989)
- Awwen, Mike. "The Miners' Strike" Parwiamentary Affairs (1986) 33#3 pp. 386–390.
- Darwington, R.R. "There is no awternative: Expworing de options in de 1984–5 miners' strike." Capitaw and Cwass 87 (2005): 71–95.
- Howeww, David, et aw. "Goodbye to aww dat?: A Review of Literature on de 1984/5 Miners' Strike." Work, Empwoyment & Society (1987) 1#3 pp. 388–404 in JSTOR
- Leewordy, Daryw. "The secret wife of us: 1984, de miners' strike and de pwace of biography in writing history 'from bewow'." European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire 19#5 (2012): 825–846.
- Miners strike 1984–1985 – Report Digitaw – archive of photos of de 1984–1985 strike
- Miner's Advice – website providing hewp and information to ex-coaw miners
- The officiaw NUM website
- A wook at present day mining
- Women in de miners' strike 1984/85 in de norf-east of Engwand
- Norman Strike's Diary – an onwine version of a diary kept by one of de striking miners
- Sources for de Study of de Miners Strike in Souf Yorkshire Produced by Sheffiewd City Counciw's Libraries and Archives
- Cabinet office documents from 1984 concerning de strike (PDF format)
- (in French) (in Engwish) The strike, video Radio Téwévision Suisse, dated 1984
- Cowwiery Maps – Onwine mapping of cowwieries of de British Iswes (Nordern Mine Research Society)
- Coaw Mining in de British Iswes – Interactive mapping and information on cowwieries of de British Iswes (Nordern Mine Research Society)