In 1961, Scargill was elected a member of the Woolley NUM Branch Committee. It was a major political victory for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party. [4] UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. Without their support, victory for the miners looked uncertain as they were the best paid, with better conditions promised by Thatcher[13]. My mother was strictly non-political. Logger.logCoid("61c4e44a-8d58-45d2-8bc5-5fc2bd749aae"); Robert Taylor depicts Scargill as an 'industrial Napoleon' who called a strike 'at the wrong time' on the 'wrong issue', and adopted strategies and tactics that were 'impossibilist', with 'an inflexible list of extravagant non-negotiable demands' that amounted to 'reckless adventurism' that was 'a dangerous, self-defeating delusion'. Travis, Alan. Scargill recalled how after becoming a miner, the poor working conditions and "people who should never have been working, having to work to live on that first day I promised myself I would try one day to get things changed". [16] Wakefield, Arthur, and Brian Elliot. Ridley may have been trying to take credit for the failure of the strike by saying that the strike failed due to the governments preparations that included the plan he came up with. The Myth of Control: Created by Mikail Chowdhury, Sana Soni. Looking for a flexible role? //--> [60][61], London Assembly elections (entire London city). McIlroy, J. "[46] Kitchen says that Scargill "has had 30 years of decent living out of the union, and he's got a pension that's second to none. These days he only gets to speak at the crankiest of Stalinist events. This Mainstream media view holds that the strike failed because of Scargills extreme beliefs and bad decisions. You may get a 404 error for images because you have Hot Link Protection turned on and the domain is not on the list of authorized domains. Thatcher, herself, advances this view in her memoirs The Downing Street Years and echoed by many other Thatcherites such as Nigel Lawson, Shirley Letwin and historians such as John Campbell. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. [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. On the other hand, the Marxist/Left Wing view suggests that the strike was part of Thatchers wider attack on political consensus and suggest that the miners could have won the strike had it not been for the concerted, illegal government campaign to smash the miners union, something they had been planning for some time. A dialogue box may appear asking you about encoding. Study for free with our range of university lectures! This led to McGregor and the NCB negotiating a settlement with NACODS in order for them to call off the strike which could have seriously affected the outcome of the miners strike. His post-1985 decision to try and build a political organisation the so-called Socialist Labour Party turned out to be a disaster and created nothing more than a pathetic, personal bandwagon which spluttered briefly before the wheels fell off. The strike ended on 3 March 1985 following an NUM vote to return to work. Yet he was a decisive figure in the great strike of 1984-85. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. : Univ. Page 161. I was for the EU then, and was critical of this stance, but I I then came to the out view, albeit for different reasons.l, and was fully behind Brexit. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (198485), a major event in the history of the British labour movement. 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. Arguably, one of the most important factors in the failure of the Miners Strike in 1984 was the leadership of the head of NUM, Arthur Scargill. Clearly, Scargill did fall out of favour with the Socialist movement, perhaps because it became evident that he was only happy when he was in the limelight. [44] 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]. He left school in 1953 at fifteen years old to work as a coal miner at Woolley Colliery, where he worked for nineteen years.[2][3]. In his diary he documents the battle at Orgreave on Monday 18th of June, 1984; Ive never seen so many of our lads altogether, it brought tears to my eyes[16]. Therefore, when considering both sources, Letwins Thatcherite view isnt very convincing as the argument that the failure of the miners strike was due to Scargills bad leadership is based on factors out of his control like the timing of the strike and accusations that havent been proven. This was a complete reversal of the policy that was promised by the Labour Government before it was put into office this represents a betrayal of the mining industry. However, Scargill was well known for being a formidable organiser and conference-hall speaker[6]. I think people would be astounded if they knew that."[42]. If your blog is showing the wrong domain name in links, redirecting to another site, or is missing images and style, these are all usually related to the same problem: you have the wrong domain name configured in your WordPress blog. [53] He was not attending any of the events to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the 1984 strike at the NUM. Scargill joined the Labour Party in 1962. This shows that even someone who takes the traditional mainstream media view, that because of Scargills actions the strike was poorly supported and doomed to fail, you cant deny the amount of support that the miners had. The Guardian. Bone figurines of waterbirds made about 16,000 B. C., which were found in Mal'ta in Siberia, share the symbolism of the wild gander . First shown: 06/. He regularly attended Workers' Educational Association (WEA) classes and Co-operative Party educational programmes, and in 1962, undertook a three-year, part-time course at the University of Leeds, where he studied economics, industrial relations and social history. After the miners' strike in 1984, there were accusations that Arthur Scargill had misappropriated National Union of Mineworkers funds and that money which sh. Page 342. [37] Campbell, John. London: Fontana, 1992. Letwins Thatcherite view is also discredited by Tony Benn who says The issue of a national ballot was really irrelevant. Seumas Milne argues that the miners had sued the police for assault, wrongful arrest, malicious persecution and false imprisonment and then went on to describe the battle of Orgreaves as an 8,000 riot police staged medieval-style mounted charges of unprecedented ferocity[33]. According to the Morning Star Scargill said that every single MP who wants us to go back into Europe should be opposed. That would be the majority of Labour MPs, then, Arthur? RewriteRule . In this example the file must be in public_html/example/Example/. [9] He had challenged Sam Bullough, the President of the Yorkshire area NUM, to act on the working hours of surface workers, given that the union's conference had passed a resolution that their hours be shortened the previous year. Another important factor in the failure of the miners strike was Thatcher and her governments actions during the strike such as using the police force. When you get a 404 error be sure to check the URL that you are attempting to use in your browser.This tells the server what resource it should attempt to request. However, Wakefield also mentions the betrayal he felt by the Nottinghamshire miners who continued to work by saying The lads are in good spirits even if the majority of scabs are working. However, it can be argued that the government limited its role in upholding law and order in a dispute between the NUM and the NCB. A former Labour Party member, Scargill is now leader of the Socialist Labour Party (SLP), founded by him in 1996. A5 format. Page 346. He mentions how the strikers overtime ban was biting deep into power-station coal stocks and goes on to say If it was allowed to continue until the autumn, managers warned, a twelve-week strike would be enough to put the countrys lights out[26]. The names of all incoming telephone callers are recorded on a central log. Scargill had, before becoming president, favoured moving the head office of the NUM out of London, which he described as a "prostituting place". Scargill had the ability to do great things; Pity he got in the way of his own opportunities, and could not see Communism as a failed ideology that blighted every country in which it held sway. Put the custom structure back if you had one. Scargill won widespread applause for his response to the disaster at Lofthouse Colliery in Outwood, West Yorkshire, at which he accompanied the rescue teams underground and was on site for six days with the relatives of the seven deceased. In fact, other factors such as the governments intense preparations came into play. Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Thereafter Scargill led the NUM through the 19841985 miners' strike. How to find the correct spelling and folder, 404 Errors After Clicking WordPress Links, From the left-hand navigation menu in WordPress, click. 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. "It's so hypocritical it's unreal," he said. I think if it had been made public before then there'd have been a huge outcry. Scargill subsequently decided to move to Sheffield, and said that he had spoken to each member of staff to ask them to move to Sheffield. Paul Hampton and Martin Thomas respond to Eric Lee on Clara Zetkin. [38] Thatcher, Margaret. It is also possible that you have inadvertently deleted your document root or the your account may need to be recreated. The Anatomy of Thatcherism. However, he does give credit to the harsh tactics taken by the miners that may have cut out any support for the Nottinghamshire miners; The only legitimate question that may be raised about the tactics of the NUM nationally was whether the Yorkshire miners, by picketing Nottinghamshire so early and so vigorously, alienated those they were seeking to influence. On platforms that enforce case-sensitivity example and Example are not the same locations. 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. Either way, please contact your web host immediately. # End WordPress. John Campbell argues that It was the job of the police to protect the freedom to work, and the job of the government to support the police[37]. He had a powerful speaking capability which garnered much passionate support from those who watched or saw his speeches. It only demonstrates the individual and threat he was. 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]. Arthur Scargill emerged from semi-retirement from politics to speak at a meeting of the Communist Party of Britains wretched little pro-Brexit front organisation Leave Fight Transform (LeFT) in Brighton on 11 September, alongside Eddie Dempsey (the man who said Tommy Robinson supporters were right to hate the liberal left) and other assorted xenophobes, nationalists and social conservatives. He cannot resist pointing out parallels in all times and places. Scargill also cleverly manipulated the NUM rule book creating a serious constitutional debate. But my father never forced me to be involved in politics at all.[5]. Accessed October 11, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/jan/07/guardianletters4. 100 1 _ a . (1980), Scargill, Arthur, (2004) "Al Richardson (19412003): An Appreciation", David Howell, et al. This sparked an individual ballot of members, in the autumn of 1984, whereby the ballot obtained an 80% plus vote for strike action, a decision which, if implemented, would have been sufficient to save pits and jobs, and win the dispute which had been brought by the National Coal Board[35]. Arrow, 1994. [13] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Scargill, once the hero of the miners, now cuts a rather sad, isolated figure and this is a complex post-1985 story. Soup kitchens were set up to save miners and their families from starvation in nearly every small village[18]. In a 1975 interview with New Left Review Scargill said: I was in the Young Communist League for about six or seven years and I became a member of its National Executive Committee responsible for industrial work. Former Scargill loyalist Jimmy Kelly, a miner at the Edlington Main pit near Doncaster in the 1980s, said he was astonished to learn of the attempt to buy the flat. 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. By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. [14], The vast majority of head-office staff took redundancy rather than move to Sheffield. After the miners' strike, Scargill was elected to lifetime presidency of the NUM by an overwhelming national majority, in a controversial election in which some[who?] "Our communities are now just about dead on their feet." 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