Please click on a checkbox next to an item and try again. Nevertheless, Government intervention such as the use of police and the actions of Ian McGregor was not the most important factor in the failure of the strike as many people openly criticised McGregor, including Thatcher herself. [53] He was not attending any of the events to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the 1984 strike at the NUM. BATTLE FOR BRITAIN; on the 25th Anniversary of the Miners Strike, NORMAN TEBBIT, Reveals Why He Believes Defeat Would Have Been the Death of Democracy.. In the 1997 general election, he ran against Alan Howarth, a defector from the Conservative Party to Labour, who had been given the safe seat of Newport East to contest. //--> He also stated regarding Brexit that "we should just invoke the first clause of Article 50 and that means we could leave the EU tomorrow". Back in 1983 (even before the great miners strike) the forunner of Solidarity (Socialist Organiser) condemned Scargills attacks on the independent Polish union movement Solidarnosc, but also identified the root cause of Scargills tragic error (nationalism) and denounced the hypocrisy of many of his critics within the labour movement: Its no news that Scargill has a scandalous attitude to Solidarnosc. We always have to be aware of the enemy within, which is much more difficult to fight and more dangerous to liberty[28]. "Analysing the British miners' strike of 19845.". July 31, 2013. This lack of support can be blamed on the leadership of Arthur Scargill; therefore, the leadership of Arthur Scargill is a more important factor in the failure of the miners strike in 1985. At the risk of paraphrasing, Karl Marx once wrote that the great figures of history appear first as tragedy and then as farce. [53], Scargill still occasionally gives interviews and makes appearances. Nicholas Ridley conveys the mainstream media view that the failure of the strike was due to sufficient preparations for the strike by the government and out rightly says He might have won at Orgreave if it hadnt been for the preparations that the Government had made. [52], The Guardian in February 2014 said that Scargill had become a recluse. London: Fontana, 1992. Seumas Milne portrays the Marxist view that the government went over the top with the preparations in order to see the miners strike fail and bring down the unions altogether. Harpercollins Publishers, 2012. London: Pan Books, an Imprint of Pan Macmillan, 2017. National Archives: Margaret Thatcher Wanted to Crush Power of Trade Unions.. In May 2009, he was a candidate for the Socialist Labour Party for one of London's seats in the European Parliament. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. [26], There is a prevailing view that Arthur Scargill, the NUM National President, called the strike. On March 6, 1984, the National Coal Board announced its plan to cut the nation's coal output by 4 million tons, in an effort to stem a $340 million annual loss. I think if it had been made public before then there'd have been a huge outcry. Page 317. Without their support, victory for the miners looked uncertain as they were the best paid, with better conditions promised by Thatcher[13]. [57] Scargill supported the 2022 United Kingdom railway strike, joining an RMT picket line in Wakefield on 21 June 2022. : A Review of Literature on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike. "The strike wasn't just about Arthur Scargill or Margaret Thatcher, it was about a way of life. "[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. The Enemy Within: The Secret War against the Miners. Page 22. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d [22] Milne, Seumas. However, Lawson then goes on to say The violent tactics used by the NUM pickets reopened the issue of Who governs Britain?. [14], The vast majority of head-office staff took redundancy rather than move to Sheffield. A debate on workers' control. Beyond Service: State Workers, Public Policy, and the Prospects for Tous les rsultats Google Recherche de Livres». Somerset: Routledge, 2018. *You can also browse our support articles here >. 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]. The view that the failure to call a National Ballot, by Scargill, cost him valuable support is advocated by Shirley Letwin; Nor did he bother to abide by his own unions rules which required that a strike shall be entered upon as the result of a ballot vote of the members.[1] This led to the miners losing the support of many, including Labour Partys- Neil Kinnock, who felt emotionally disposed to support the miners but aware that it would be political suicide to do so[2]. They were released from prison in November 1989. : S.n., 1996. The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. March 10, 2004. He then went on to say: The deep disillusion of the mining communitywas spontaneous and genuine. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f Assess the view that the main reason for the failure of the miners strike in 1984 was the leadership of Arthur Scargill. This included Norman Tebbits radical reforms[39] as put by Tony Benn, who was newly elected to the mining seat and a clear supporter of the 1984-85 Miners strike[40]. Absolute nonsense on all accords above. Yet he was a trade union leader who helped lead a strike that brought down a Tory government (1974) and correctly understood that Thatcher was out to smash the unions and that they needed to fight back. [18] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Page 51, [9] Lawson, Nigel. 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. The Myth of Control: Created by Mikail Chowdhury, Sana Soni. On the 20th of July 1984, Thatcher gave a speech to the 1922 committee where she deemed the miners as the enemy within going on to say We had to fight the enemy without, in the Falklands. (1998), Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10000684676, Occasional papers in industrial relations. On the appointment of Ian MacGregor as head of the NCB in 1983, Scargill stated, "The policies of this government are clear to destroy the coal industry and the NUM". 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. [16] One branch of the NUM, at Annesley in Nottinghamshire, put forward a vote of no confidence in Scargill in autumn 1983 following his comments on these matters, but Scargill defeated this at a December meeting and won a vote of confidence instead. Articles like the above, years later are actually a compliment to Arthur. Although he never worked at Barrow Colliery in his home village, he was involved in the politics of the branch, where the membership was much more left-wing than in the conservative Woolley Colliery. Scargill was involved in a High Court case in 1978 that set a precedent in UK labour law, known as Roebuck v NUM (Yorkshire Area) No 2. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. 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. ",viewBookBag: "View clipboard",addBookBag: "Add to clipboard",removeBookBag: "Remove from clipboard",itemsAddBag: "item(s) added to your clipboard",itemsInBag: "item(s) are either already in your clipboard or could not be added",bookbagMax: "100",bookbagFull: "Your clipboard is Full",bookbagStatusFull: "Full",no_tags: "No Tags"}; Therefore, without support from key groups such as the Nottinghamshire miners and the dock workers, the striking miners were isolated which may have led to the failure of the strike itself. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3815426/. One source described them as the iron ladies of the coal fields[17]. Therefore, the argument that the government limited its role to upholding law and order in the dispute is faulty as many of the people who were downplaying the governments actions are known Thatcherites and consequently had ulterior motives. 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]. Both the Marxist view and the mainstream media view gives credit to government preparations showing this was definitely an important factor in the failure of the strike. Page 345. This is because had the NUM come out nationally in favour of the strike, Nottinghamshire area would have won permission for its own ballot and remained at work. [26] Milne, Seumas. 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. Letwins Thatcherite view is also discredited by Tony Benn who says The issue of a national ballot was really irrelevant. [13] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. See also V. L. Allen, The Militancy of the British Miners (1981); N. Hagger, Scargill the Stalinist (1984); and "What Drives Arthur Scargill?"The Sunday Times of London (July 15, 1984).. [36] In September 1990, the Certification Officer brought criminal charges against Scargill and Heathfield for wilfully neglecting to perform the union's duty to keep proper accounting records. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the trade union movement. Arguably, one of the most important factors in the failure of the Miner's Strike in 1984 was the leadership of the head of NUM, Arthur Scargill. (1980), Scargill, Arthur, Arrow, 1994. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3815426/. Many people also argue that the police werent as brutal as some other accounts made them out to be and that they were just doing their jobs in maintaining law and order. [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. 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]. Scargill was born in Worsbrough Dale near Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire. His application was refused because the flat in the Barbican Estate's Shakespeare Tower was not Scargill's primary residence. [7] Scargill, Arthur. Joining the NUM at the age of 19 in 1957, Scargill was one of its leading activists by the late 1960s. January 07, 2000. Accessed October 12, 2018. Airport staff at Leeds-Bradford Airport identified Scargill attempting to travel under a false name (Arthur Fenn) wearing a disguise on 20 July, and turned him away to purchase a genuine ticket with his true identity. Therefore government preparations was definitely a factor in the failure of the miners strike but to what extent, can be argued. Put the custom structure back if you had one. Look for the .htaccess file in the list of files. 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. The strike of 1984 was covered in detail by the press. In the 1981 election for NUM president, Scargill secured around 70% of the vote. Nothing good about it. T he council chamber at the Barnsley HQ of the National Union of Mineworkers is a jaw-dropping sight: a huge, oak-panelled room, draped with banners that were once kept at collieries across. Staff members suddenly taken ill, or with long-standing medical appointments, require his personal consent to be absent from the office. ARTHUR SCARGILL AND PEGGY KAHN - "THE MYTH OF WORKERS' CONTROL" - 1st . Therefore, we must conclude that whilst Arthur Scargills leadership was an important factor in the failure of the strike, it would be wrong to assume that this was the main reason as without the lack of support, especially from the Nottinghamshire miners, as well as the governments preparations, such as the stockpiling of coal, the miners strike might not have failed. Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales. ",confirmEmpty: "Are you sure you want to empty your clipboard? Notice that the CaSe is important in this example. [28] Travis, Alan. London: Vintage Books, 2008. Accessed January 06, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/mar/07/arthur-scargill-miners-strike. //, Unions on the board : an experiment in industrial democracy, Batstone, Eric, Therefore, the fact that Scargill didnt call a National Ballot was irrelevant[11] as Tony Benn says, but the fact that Scargill authorised violent tactics that reduced public sympathy and misjudged situations may have been a factor in the failure of the miners strike. Accessed October 11, 2018. The Enemy Within: The Secret War against the Miners. This is portrayed by Kenneth OMorgan, who takes a clear mainstream media view. The Miners Strike Day by Day: The Illustrated 1984-85 Diary of Yorkshire Miner Arthur Wakefield. Exciting, witty Arthur Scargill brought coalmining to a close in Britain far faster than would have happened had the NUM been led by some prevaricating, dreary old-style union hack. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. [19] Morgan, Kenneth O.Britain since 1945: The Peoples Peace. Year of publication: 1980. [43] Marr, Andrew. Arrow, 1994. Therefore, Thatcher and her governments actions could have caused the failure of the strike but to what extent these actions can be justified is still widely argued. [39], During the media controversy, the antiperspirant Mitchum used Scargill's image, without his consent, under the slogan "Mitchum, for when you're really sweating! Arrow, 1994. After a Labour Party conference speech on energy policy by Richard Marsh in July 1967, Scargill said: I can honestly say that I never heard flannel like we got from the Minister he said that we have nuclear power stations with us, whether we like it or not. This source is reliable as Kim Howells was a member of the NUM at the time of the strike but still discredits Scargills tactics. Can you add one ? His one man mission to bring down the elected government, for a second time, and destroy Thatcherism was not only not accomplished ,it only served to strengthen the Conservative Government and Thatchers dominance of the political landscape for over a decade. He gained fame for using the tactic to win the Battle of Saltley Gate in 1972, and made it his main tactical device in the 1984 strike. When working with WordPress, 404 Page Not Found errors can often occur when a new theme has been activated or when the rewrite rules in the .htaccess file have been altered. Woods, Alan. Scargill, once the hero of the miners, now cuts a rather sad, isolated figure and this is a complex post-1985 story. [19] The NUM had previously held three ballots on a national strike, all of which rejected the proposal: 55% voted against in January 1982, and 61% voted against in both October 1982 and March 1983.[20]. 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'. Page 57-59. Arthur Scargill was in attendance but it was noteworthy (and significant) that he remained a peripheral figure being greeted by only a few of those attending. [17], The government announced on 6 March 1984 its intention to close 20 coal mines, revealing as well the plan in the long-term to close over 70 pits. var Logger = new EconBiz.Logger(); Tony Benn. Wikipedia. [17] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Scargill secured around 70 % of the coal fields [ 17 ] the... Peoples Peace is also discredited by Tony Benn that every single MP who wants to. 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