Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. Page 346. However, the people that argue this are clear Thatcherites such as Shirley Letwin, John Campbell and even Thatcher herself who blamed Scargill for the violence at the picket line mass pickets led by Arthur Scargill forced the closure of the Saltley Coke Depot in Birmingham[44] contradicting this, Seumas Milne who takes a clear Marxist view that the standard fairy tale, still routinely recycled by media and politicians alike, has it that Scargill called the action in spring in a classic example of his poor generalship and tactical sense[45]. The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. // [4] UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. 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. London: Verso, 2014. Milne, Seumas. " 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 failure of the miners strike in 1984 has been seen by many as the result of bad leadership of the head of the NUM, Arthur Scargill, the lack of support for the strike as well as giving credit to the governments preparations. ", R.R. Harpercollins Publishers, 2012. One source described them as the iron ladies of the coal fields[17]. 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. [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". 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. The NUM is not your personal bank account and never will be again. 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. His legacy is one of shame and ignominy. I've always said that if Arthur can no longer control the NUM, he'll try and destroy it. In 1958, he attended the World Federation of Trade Unions youth congress in Prague. The Guardian. Brexit: Labour movement debate, not talk with Tories! On any measure, Scargill was a failure who brought hardship down on those who followed him, now a pitiful figure. This is unfair as after the NCB accidently announced pit closures, the strike gained momentum very quickly forcing Scargill to just go along with it. If you have already uploaded the file then the name may be misspelled or it is in a different folder. Study for free with our range of university lectures! This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 23:36. 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]. [29] Thatcher, Margaret. First shown: 06/. However, they have conflicting views on to what extent these preparations were made in order to bring down the unions. Arrow, 1994. Joining the NUM at the age of 19 in 1957, Scargill was one of its leading activists by the late 1960s. In 1974, he was instrumental in organising the miners' strike that led Prime Minister Edward Heath to call a February general election.[13]. Page 158. The Labour Party was opposed to membership of the EU to begin with wasn't it, so what happened, are its current membership more enlightened. 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. [22][23], Many found Scargill inspiring; many others found him frankly scary. Downing Street Years. 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?] Page 70. Scargill had, before becoming president, favoured moving the head office of the NUM out of London, which he described as a "prostituting place". It was a major political victory for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party. We also remember his relatively principled role within the UK labour movement of the 1970s and 80s. He did not take the Eleven-Plus exam and went to Worsbrough Dale School (now called the Elmhirst School). The judge Sir Sydney Templeman held that it was unlawful that union members were disciplined by the NUM disciplinary panel, which Scargill chaired, for appearing as witnesses testifying against Scargill in a libel case. The easiest way to edit a .htaccess file for most people is through the File Manager in cPanel. "The strike wasn't just about Arthur Scargill or Margaret Thatcher, it was about a way of life. Are you using WordPress? We may criticise some of the tactics he used in the 1984-5 miners strike, but we cannot dispute that he gave real leadership and was serious about wanting to defeat the Tories. The political power of the NUM and of most British trade unions was severely reduced. "[40] Scargill complained to the Advertising Standards Authority who criticised the advertisement as "highly distasteful". Page 316, [3] Harris, Robert. "It was Thatcher's legislation, actually giving council tenants the right to buy their own houses. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37592/How the Miners Strike could have won. 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. [16] Wakefield, Arthur, and Brian Elliot. 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. This only reinforces the idea that it was Scargills decision not to call a ballot that lost him valuable support. Which makes his present-day role (such as it is) in politics all the more tragic. Historian, John Campbell, described the battle at Orgreave; They were beaten back by even greater numbers of mounted and heavily armoured police[41]. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the trade union movement. The Museum at Work; Health, Wellbeing and Amgueddfa Cymru ; Collections Online. 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. 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. 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). Vast majority of people work retail or asBarristersselling fancycoffee to people on the way to work in offices, most of them on single hour contracts working in retail parks or business parks built on the ground of old mine, steelworks and potteries that used to employ tens of thousands of men and now employ the best part of 100. ", "Cabinet papers reveal 'secret coal pits closure plan', "Cameron rejects Labour call for miners' strike apology", "SCARGILL LEAVES HIS WIFE AFTER 37 YEARS; My marriage is over he tells pals", "Scargill used Thatcherite policy in bid to buy London flat", "National Union of Mineworkers 'expels' Arthur Scargill", "Arthur Scargill wins 13,000 union damages", "Why Arthur Scargill is reluctant to leave his 1.5m Barbican flat", "In search of Arthur Scargill: 30 years after the miners' strike", "List of candidates for the EU Parliamentary elections", "Stalin apologists drink to the memory of Uncle Joe", "Scargill angers unions with Solidarity attack", "Old comrades rub hands with glee at return of hard left", "Scargill highlights policy differences with Jeremy Corbyn", "Brexit means we can reopen the mines and cotton mills, says Arthur Scargill", "Ex-miners' leader Arthur Scargill announced among speakers for 'Rebel Town Festival' in South Tyneside", "Arthur Scargill joins RMT picket at Wakefield", "Arthur Scargill joins striking rail workers on picket line", "Engagements - Debated on Wednesday 22 June 2022", "Johnson and Starmer spar over rail strikes at PMQs", "National Assembly for Wales Election Results 19992007", "Arthur Scargill and the Battle of Saltley Gate" BBC News 10 February 2012, Review of BBC Radio Play: "The Duel", by Michael Samuels the struggle for control of the UK coal industry in 1984, Trade Union International of Energy Workers, Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom, List of political parties in the United Kingdom, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Scargill&oldid=1137688669, Young Communist League of Britain members, Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress, Presidents of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain), Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from April 2021, Articles with dead external links from October 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 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