Page 164. 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. The strike of 1984 was covered in detail by the press. [16] Wakefield, Arthur, and Brian Elliot. Study for free with our range of university lectures! [35] Negotiations between Scargill and the NUM took place in France. UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. }); [41], In 1993, Scargill tried to use Thatcher's flagship Right to Buy scheme to buy a flat on the Barbican estate in central London. Accessed October 12, 2018. "Analysing the British miners' strike of 19845.". An example of this is the NACODs strike whereby Ian McGregor ordered colliery overmen to cross violent picket lines if they were to get paid. [49], After stepping down from leadership of the NUM, Scargill became active in the UK's Stalin Society[50] saying that the "ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin explain the real world". The secretary at this time was a very good friend of mine called Jimmy Reid, and we're still close friends. Accessed January 06, 2019. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3503545.stm. 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. ",confirmDelete: "Are you sure you want to delete this? The students, lesbian and gay rights movements also supported the miners as they could relate to their struggle. 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. Page 346. "Our communities are now just about dead on their feet." The strike started in Yorkshire in March . A debate on workers' control. Page 341. That violence strengthened the stature of the Coal Board and the Thatcher government. Yet Arthur Scargill clearly sees class struggle as just British workers versus British bosses. Add the following snippet of code to the top of your .htaccess file: # BEGIN WordPress 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. Scargill, Arthur (1938- ) English trade union leader. : A Review of Literature on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike. Scargill, Arthur, (1978) CONTESTING THE MARKET: PAY EQUITY AND THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC . Page 414. If not, correct the error or revert back to the previous version until your site works again. He is looking for socialism in one country, and since that is impossible he ends up with a recipe of capitalism in one country. [53] Following Margaret Thatcher's death in April 2013, ITN made Scargill several offers for a five-minute interview, with the final offer reaching 16,000, but Scargill refused all the offers and did not speak to any media organisation. A motion from the Kent area was passed by the NUM conference to move the head office to a coalfield. [27] Thatcher, Margaret. [23] 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. Daily Mail (London), March 6, 2009. (1978), CONTESTING THE MARKET: PAY EQUITY AND THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING, Eigart, Deborah M., Some historians have provided interpretations and explanations of the defeat. 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. [34] Scargill accepted Lightman's statement that many of his actions suffered from a lack of professional advice, which he was unwilling to be bound by. The movement faced a huge confrontation from the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher, and the union was eventually defeated. A History of Modern Britain. Arrow, 1994. 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. the myth of workers' control arthur scargill the myth of workers' control arthur scargill on October 1, 2021 on October 1, 2021 I really do not care what you think of Mr Scargill today, where elseis a man supposed to go after he was betrayed by the system and vilified by the media to agullible population, a media that was run by the government of the day. If you have already uploaded the file then the name may be misspelled or it is in a different folder. Accessed October 11, 2018. In 1965 he was elected Branch Delegate from Woolley to the Yorkshire NUM Area Council, and in 1969 was elected a member of the Yorkshire NUM Area Executive Committee. References to this book. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. 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, one of the most important factors in the failure of the miners strike has to be the lack of support especially from the Nottinghamshire miners and the falling through of the NACODs strike. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3815426/. The media characterised the strike as "Scargill's strike" and his critics accused him of looking for an excuse for industrial action since becoming union president. Staff members suddenly taken ill, or with long-standing medical appointments, require his personal consent to be absent from the office. No plagiarism, guaranteed! Page 57-59. [17] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Ian White talks exclusively to Arthur Scargill, 84, on 50th anniversary of the Battle of Saltley Gate in Birmingham They were released from prison in November 1989. Arthur Scargill: We Could Surrender or Stand and Fight. The Guardian. [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. The Enemy Within: M15, Maxwell and the Scargill Affair. 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. 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. [28] Travis, Alan. [58][59] Scargill's appearance on the picket line was alluded to by Prime Minister Boris Johnson the next day at Prime Minister's Questions, accusing the Labour Party of "literally holding hands with Arthur Scargill". This article, far from being full of lies, hit the nail, well and truly, on the head. 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 Myth of Workers' Control Issue 5 of Occasional papers in industrial relations Author Arthur Scargill Publisher University of Leeds, 1980 Original from Cornell University Digitized Apr. His application was refused because the flat in the Barbican Estate's Shakespeare Tower was not Scargill's primary residence. September 09, 2018. Authors: Scargill, Arthur; Kahn, Peggy: Publisher: Leeds [u.a.] It was not , and will not ever be the liberator of the working Class, but their oppressors. Industrial Democracy in Italy: Workers Co-ops and the Self-management Debate Mark Holmstrom, Mark Holmstrm Snippet view - 1989. [26], There is a prevailing view that Arthur Scargill, the NUM National President, called the strike. Joining the NUM at the age of 19 in 1957, Scargill was one of its leading activists by the late 1960s. 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. A History of Modern Britain. Therefore, Milnes interpretation is supported by Ridleys in the fact that government preparations led to the downfall of the miners. Somerset: Routledge, 2018. Not even many of the Stalinists he hangs round with. 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. [10] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. 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. Somerset: Routledge, 2018. However, Thatcher, herself, has discredited this view saying He (Arthur Scargill) was making wild claims that the CEGB had only eight weeks of coal stocks. Either way, please contact your web host immediately. However, Lawson then goes on to say The violent tactics used by the NUM pickets reopened the issue of Who governs Britain?. (1988), Trade unions and politics : thatchers assault on the unions ; the unions response, Kahn, Peggy, [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. January 26. On 25 August 2010, it was reported that Scargill had been told that he no longer qualified for full membership of the NUM under union rules that he had helped draw up, but was only eligible for "life", "retired" or "honorary" membership, none of which carried voting rights. You've been found out. Another factor in the failure of the miners strike, in 1984, is government involvement. //-->, Unions on the board : an experiment in industrial democracy, Batstone, Eric, In the event, it turned out to be the exact blueprint that the government followed[21]. Many of us started in the 1950s in the Young Communist League. The Truth of Nacods Shameful Sell-out. The Guardian. The .htaccess file contains directives (instructions) that tell the server how to behave in certain scenarios and directly affect how your website functions. You may need to scroll to find it. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Perhaps theyre embarrassed by this reminder of how the Stalinist and reformist left squandered the power and influence it once had in British politics. 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. Page 341. 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, 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. 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]. 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. Thatcher deliberately chose to make the miners who continued to work look like heroes and make the striking miners look like the public enemy. By 1984 however the police were ready and neutralized the tactic with superior force. 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. 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. [4] UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. Page 151. 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. Paul Hampton and Martin Thomas respond to Eric Lee on Clara Zetkin. However, we have to be careful when using Thatcher as a source as she may be trying to give more credit to her successes and deflecting her failures onto other people such as Ian McGregor. 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. 11: Britains Longest-serving Cabinet Member Recalls the Triumphs and Disappointments of the Thatcher Era. Was this national or local? [56], In July 2021 he spoke at the Rebel Town Festival in Jarrow. 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. In 1973, Scargill was elected to the full-time post of compensation agent in the Yorkshire NUM. : A Review of Literature on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike.". "Leadership in the Miners Union-Scargill, Arthur Rise to Power. Page 316, [3] Harris, Robert. 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