The View from No. Assess the view that the main reason for the failure of the miners strike in 1984 was the leadership of Arthur Scargill. Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) [1] is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He had been a Communist and retained strong Marxist views and a penchant for denouncing anyone who disagreed with him as a traitor Scargill had indeed been elected by a vast margin and he set about turning the NUM's once moderate executive into a reliably militant group By adopting a position that no pits should be closed on economic grounds, even if the coal was exhausted more investment would always find more coal, and from his point of view, the losses were irrelevant he made sure confrontation would not be avoided. (1978), CONTESTING THE MARKET: PAY EQUITY AND THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING, Eigart, Deborah M., Beyond Service: State Workers, Public Policy, and the Prospects for Tous les rsultats Google Recherche de Livres». The appointment of Ian McGregor as head of the NCB can be seen as a failure on Thatchers behalf showing that the governments preparations were insufficient to cause the strike to fail. On platforms that enforce case-sensitivity example and Example are not the same locations. The .htaccess file contains directives (instructions) that tell the server how to behave in certain scenarios and directly affect how your website functions. Page 343-344. London, 1984. Downing Street Years. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37592/How the Miners Strike could have won. Eric Evans described him as aggressive and charismatic, but vain and politically limited[42], therefore showing his limitations as the head of NCB. This is supported by Margaret Thatcher herself; His (Ian McGregor) impression was that the police were failing to uphold criminal law and that the pickets had been able to prevent people going to work[38]. There was some controversy in February 1985 when Times journalist Paul Routledge engaged the Queen in discussion on the strike, and the Queen said that the strike was "all about one man", which Routledge objected to. Margaret Thatcher: Volume Two The Iron Lady. He says Support for the strike was virtually solid not only in old militant areasbut also (at first) in traditionally moderate Lancashire, Durham and Northumberland[19]. 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? However, many people argue that there was a lot of support for the strike so therefore it couldnt have been such an important factor in its failure in 1985. Page 473. Nothing good about it. I then thought of things rather differently. This view is supported to some extent by Labour minister Tony Benn, one of Thatchers fiercest critics, and historian, Seumas Milne who argued that the governments extensive preparations and actions during the strike led to its failure in 1984. 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. London: Constable, 2009. He did not take the Eleven-Plus exam and went to Worsbrough Dale School (now called the Elmhirst School). He claimed that the government had a long-term strategy to destroy the industry by closing unprofitable pits, and that it listed pits it wanted to close each year. In 1990, Scargill was accused in a series of Daily Mirror articles of mishandling money donated for the striking miners during the 19841985 strike, with many of the sources being those who had previously worked with him in the NUM such as Kim Howells, Jim Parker and Roger Windsor. However, Margaret Thatchers intentions in this source have to be questioned as this book was published in 1993 after Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister in 1990, therefore she may have been trying to justify her actions and downplay the use of police in the miners strike. Following these results, Thatcher urged Ian McGregor to fix the problem, she describes how time and time again he (Ian McGregor) and his colleagues were outmanoeuvred by Arthur Scargill and the NUM leadership[36]. [18] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Accessed January 06, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/mar/07/arthur-scargill-miners-strike. This event is held every year at the Barnsley Headquarters of the NUM and acquired particular poignancy that year as it coincided with the 30th anniversary of the strike. He then goes on to say with incidents of appalling violence on both sides showing that even Campbell who takes the mainstream media view is forced to acknowledge the unnecessary violence of the police force when facing the miners. This is given credence by the fact that Scargill authorised these violent tactics, which decreased public sympathy for the Miners which was actually their greatest asset[10]. Page 317. How to find the correct spelling and folder, 404 Errors After Clicking WordPress Links, From the left-hand navigation menu in WordPress, click. [45], For years the NUM had been paying 34,000 annual rent for the flat on Scargill's instructions, without the knowledge of NUM members or many senior officials; Scargill claimed the NUM should continue funding his flat for the rest of his life, and thereafter for any widow who survived him. Page 158. [7], Scargill became involved in the Yorkshire Left, a group of left-wing activists involved in the Yorkshire region of the NUM, its largest region. Marching to the Fault Line: The 1984 Miners Strike and the Battle for Industrial Britain. All work is written to order. Scargill opposed civilian nuclear power and, during the first Wilson ministry, became highly critical of the government's energy policy. Arthur Scargill: We Could Surrender or Stand and Fight. The Guardian. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (1984-85), a major event in the history of the British labour movement. 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. [13] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37592/How the Miners Strike could have won. 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. He cannot resist pointing out parallels in all times and places. ",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"}; [8] Nigel Lawson, who takes a clear mainstream media view on the Miners strike and even admits the left-wing majority on the NUM executive insisted, however dubiously, that Rule 43 of the union allowed for a strike without a ballot[9] showing that although many people didnt agree with it, including him, it was actually permissible. Scargill also cleverly manipulated the NUM rule book creating a serious constitutional debate. 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]. These preparations included the Ridley Plan, stockpiling coal, the appointment of Ian McGregor as head of NCB, the involvement of MI5 and MI6 and the introduction of the new trade union laws. Routledge, 1997. 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. 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]. Dont forget that Labours manifesto at Kinnocks last election included a policy of leaving the bloc, and who knows what t was under Corbyn. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? [10] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. In stories told since the strike, the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Arthur Scargill, is strangely absent. Are you using WordPress? 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. 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 motto, An injury to one is an injury to all, applies world-wide. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3815426/. 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]. The strike was called under Rule 41 of the NUM rule book, which said that local strikes can be made official by the National Executive without a ballot. London: Pan Books, an Imprint of Pan Macmillan, 2017. Margaret Thatcher. [15] However, Scargill's statements in the years after becoming NUM president divided left-wing opinion with his support of the Soviet Union, most notably when he refused to support the TUC's positions on the Solidarity union in Poland or on the Soviet shooting down of the Korean Air Lines Flight 007. Scargill was often accompanied by his then wife Anne Harper to speak at picket lines and to media appearances; Harper was simultaneously involved in founding and leading the National Women Against Pit Closures movement. Before you do anything, it is suggested that you backup your website so that you can revert back to a previous version if something goes wrong. Having read the above (barely, dont like reading lies) I felt the immediate need to respond, if anything to comfort myself. This was to begin the argument of whether the actions of Thatcher and the state during the strike led to its failure. 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. Paul Hampton and Martin Thomas respond to Eric Lee on Clara Zetkin. "The strike wasn't just about Arthur Scargill or Margaret Thatcher, it was about a way of life. Put the custom structure back if you had one. [32] The documentary suggests that the claims against Scargill were untrue. September 09, 2018. Page 57. However, Lawson then goes on to say The violent tactics used by the NUM pickets reopened the issue of Who governs Britain?. That is what we need to remember these days when we think of Scargill. London: Pan Books, an Imprint of Pan Macmillan, 2017. [32] An internal NUM report by Gavin Lightman QC found that Scargill had used some of the Libyan money to pay for improvements to his bungalow but not to pay off his mortgage (as had been alleged),[33] and stated that Scargill's failure to make a full report on the Soviet money donated for the Welsh miners was "a remarkable breach of duty" and that he should repay the money back to the NUM. "[28] This was in the Prime Minister's rejection of Labour calls for an apology for government actions during the 19841985 miners' strike. : A Review of Literature on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike.". See the Section on 404 errors after clicking a link in WordPress. 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]. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. 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]. Authors: Scargill, Arthur; Kahn, Peggy: Publisher: Leeds [u.a.] "[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. Scargill was born in Worsbrough Dale near Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire. January 07, 2000. 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. It is also possible that you have inadvertently deleted your document root or the your account may need to be recreated. This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 23:36. The students, lesbian and gay rights movements also supported the miners as they could relate to their struggle. Downing Street Years. 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. Thatcher disregarded how much of an impact the WAPC would have on the strike as many of the striking ladies figured out that if they went out picketing then they would less likely be targeted by police. Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. After looking at the evidence, I believe that the Marxist view is more valid than the Mainstream media view in the fact that it is clear that Thatcher and her government went above and beyond in order to bring down Scargill and the miners. Atvery lease Mr Scargill was a leader of man and lead them unlike our current prime minister who couldn't lead a pack of sheep out of a field even though he resemble one. The Myth of Control: Created by Mikail Chowdhury, Sana Soni. Therefore, Tony Benns argument is more convincing than Eric Evans as he takes into account the failures of the miners as well as giving credit to the amount of support the strike had as well. He had no means of calling a strike in Yorkshire.[27]. The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. Aucun commentaire n'a t trouv aux emplacements habituels. When you have a missing image on your site you may see a box on your page with with a red X where the image is missing. Accessed January 06, 2019. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3503545.stm. Page 340. 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. 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. Page 317. EconBiz.Logger.enable_visibilityState_tracking(); The 84/5 miners strike brought great hardship, but achieved nothing. However, we have to be careful when taking Nicholas Ridleys account at face value as he was a known Thatcherite and also came up with the Ridley Plan that outlined how to deal and prepare for a potential strike; Perhaps my confidential annexe had been worthwhile after all. Lawson takes an objective view of the events as his book was published in 1993 after a very public dispute with Thatcher where he eventually resigned. Page 70. Somerset: Routledge, 2018. Person/Body (Historic): A. Taylor & Sons Ltd. He played an important role in the miners' strike of 1972 and was involved in the mass picket at Saltley Gate in Birmingham. Andrew Marrs view on why the Miners strike failed is much more convincing as it gives credit to Scargills leadership skills while also saying not even he would be able to persuade every part of the industry to strike showing that Marr believes that Scargill was the best man for the job. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. [53], Scargill still occasionally gives interviews and makes appearances. The View from No. My father was a Communist. In 1973, Scargill was elected to the full-time post of compensation agent in the Yorkshire NUM. 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. July 31, 2013. [17] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. The names of all incoming telephone callers are recorded on a central log. The strike ended on 3 March 1985 following an NUM vote to return to work. Because of Scargills actions, the strike was illegal, poorly supported and doomed to failure given the level of government preparations. Scargill had, before becoming president, favoured moving the head office of the NUM out of London, which he described as a "prostituting place". 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. [21] Ridley, Nicholas. "[44] However, in December 2012, Scargill lost a similar case concerning rent on his flat in the Barbican, London. The Guardian. In the 2001 general election, he ran against Peter Mandelson in Hartlepool. var Logger = new EconBiz.Logger(); She even admitted to appointing Peter Walker as Secretary of State for Energy because of his negotiating skills and said he was also a skilled communicator, something in which I knew would be important if we were to retain public support in the coal strike[29]. Scargill's first mistake was refusing to call a National Ballot . This is portrayed by Kenneth OMorgan, who takes a clear mainstream media view. [54] He gave a rare television interview to ITV News at that time. We also know that lots of support groups popped up to encourage the miners on in their fight. How the Miners Strike Could Have Won. Socialist Worker (Britain). Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938)[1] is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. the myth of workers' control arthur scargill the myth of workers' control arthur scargill on October 1, 2021 on October 1, 2021 Historian, John Campbell, described the battle at Orgreave; They were beaten back by even greater numbers of mounted and heavily armoured police[41]. In May 2009, he was a candidate for the Socialist Labour Party for one of London's seats in the European Parliament. The Miners Strike Day by Day: The Illustrated 1984-85 Diary of Yorkshire Miner Arthur Wakefield. [6] In 1970, he was elected a member of the regional committee of the Co-operative Retail Services in Barnsley and a delegate to its national conference. It can be argued that both Marxist and Mainstream Media view give credit to the fact that government preparations were a factor in the failure of the miners strike but they have opposing views on to what extent. September 09, 2018. The easiest way to edit a .htaccess file for most people is through the File Manager in cPanel. 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. 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. Yet Arthur Scargill clearly sees class struggle as just British workers versus British bosses. 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]. of the other candidates claimed that they were given very little time to prepare. [38], Film director Ken Loach subsequently made "The Arthur Legend" as part of Channel 4's Dispatches series. Thereafter Scargill led the NUM through the 19841985 miners' strike. 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. You may need to scroll to find it. 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". A miner at the age of 18, he was a member (1955-62) of the Young Communist League before joining the Labour Party.In 1981, Scargill became president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).His attempt to confront Margaret Thatcher's programme of pit closures and anti-union legislation led to a miner's strike (1984-85). This strengthens Milnes argument that the police brutality, authorised by Thatcher, was unjustified. His major innovation was organising "flying pickets" involving hundreds or thousands of committed strikers who could be bussed to critical strike points to shut down a target. The Institute for Workers' Control was formed in 1968, building on a series of conferences over several years, to act as a research and educational body, to encourage discussion and communication between workers' control groups and trade unions, and to publish important materials on industrial democracy and workers' control. The Anatomy of Thatcherism. This is true as we know that Thatchers government backed down from a confrontation with the trade unions in its first parliament in 1979-83 as the government felt like it needed more time in order to stock pile coal in preparation for the next inevitable strike. "Analysing the British miners' strike of 19845.". A History of Modern Britain. First shown: 06/. This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here. Page 13. John Campbell sums up the mainstream media view by saying The Governments only role was to uphold the liberty of those miners and others who wanted to work[31]. The Enemy Within: The Secret War against the Miners. [42] Evans, Eric J. Thatcher and Thatcherism. 11: Britains Longest-serving Cabinet Member Recalls the Triumphs and Disappointments of the Thatcher Era. The myth of workers' control; More details; The myth of workers' control . Edit the file on your computer and upload it to the server via FTP. Barnsley: Wharncliffe, 2002. But my father never forced me to be involved in politics at all.[5]. Page 51, [9] Lawson, Nigel. By 1984 however the police were ready and neutralized the tactic with superior force. A History of Modern Britain. Tony Benn. Wikipedia. [60][61], London Assembly elections (entire London city). Nevertheless, this shows that the strike didnt fail from the lack of support in general, but rather the lack of support from key figures such as the Neil Kinnock from the Labour Party, as well as the Nottinghamshire miners who, if they had supported the miners, would have guaranteed a different outcome for the strike. This confirms the fact that Thatcher and Ian McGregor often didnt see eye-to-eye, an example of this is the issue with the NACODs strike. His comments followed a question in the Commons from Labour MP Lisa Nandy, who said the miners and their families deserved an apology for the mine closures. Wilsher, Peter, Donald Macintyre, and Michael CE Jones, eds. [27] Thatcher, Margaret. Arthur Scargill is a British trade unionist who was the president of the National Union of Mineworkers. 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. Unlike the strikes in the 1970s, the later strike ended with the miners' defeat and the Thatcher government was able to consolidate its fiscally conservative programme. I suggest to this Conference that we have coal mines with us but they did something about this problem: they closed them down. "Scargill" redirects here. 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. He then went on to say: The deep disillusion of the mining communitywas spontaneous and genuine. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world . His legacy is one of shame and ignominy. 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. Scargill joined the Labour Party in 1962. Thatcher deliberately chose to make the miners who continued to work look like heroes and make the striking miners look like the public enemy. 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. Would JD care to say why he writes in such a vindictive and aggressive style? This source is reliable as Kim Howells was a member of the NUM at the time of the strike but still discredits Scargills tactics. That violence strengthened the stature of the Coal Board and the Thatcher government. The properties will tell you the path and file name that cannot be found. [56], In July 2021 he spoke at the Rebel Town Festival in Jarrow. Thats why he can write one third of the worlds workers those who live in the Stalinist states out of the class struggle, allotting them no role but to support their socialist rulers. ", R.R. McIlroy, J. National Archives: Margaret Thatcher Wanted to Crush Power of Trade Unions. The Guardian. S.l. This article, far from being full of lies, hit the nail, well and truly, on the head. Accessed October 12, 2018. Carrying the Fire in The Road T he dystopian world of Cormac McCarthy's The Road is best summarized by the following lines from the novella: "Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before. It is rather ironic that his view on the EEC was shared by Tjatcher, deep down, and it is a Tory Govt that has taken us out. //