I've always said that if Arthur can no longer control the NUM, he'll try and destroy it. 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. "Goodbye to all that? This will reset the permalinks and fix the issue in many cases. Year of publication: 1980. London: Corgi Books, 1993. The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. On platforms that enforce case-sensitivity example and Example are not the same locations. His mother, Alice (ne Pickering), was a professional cook. In the event, it turned out to be the exact blueprint that the government followed[21]. Les avis ne sont pas valids, mais Google recherche et supprime les faux contenus lorsqu'ils sont identifis, Industrial Democracy in Italy: Workers' Co-ops and the Self-management Debate. Many people argue that government preparations led to the failure of the strike. 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. 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. Many of us started in the 1950s in the Young Communist League. The strike gained momentum quickly and calling a ballot may have broken down this early support. . (The Yorkshire Left had already decided to stand him as their candidate even before the strike.) Yet he still gives credit to Thatcher and her government for their actions during the strike which legitimises his view. 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. 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. //--> That's what I believe". March 10, 2004. 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. By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. 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. If it wasnt for Thatchers continued support for the Nottinghamshire miners, the strike would have had their support which may have been vital in the success of the strike. These days he only gets to speak at the crankiest of Stalinist events. The names of all incoming telephone callers are recorded on a central log. Page 414. The Enemy Within: M15, Maxwell and the Scargill Affair. His nationalist backwardness on Brexit (and immigration, to judge by a letter published in the Guardian on 29 August 2017) cannot be forgiven. If anyone of them has any cause for complaint they are simply showing the door because they have no unions to speak for to stand up for the rights of any working man or woman in this country. Scargill opposed civilian nuclear power and, during the first Wilson ministry, became highly critical of the government's energy policy. [21] Many politicians, including the then Labour leader Neil Kinnock, believed Scargill had made a huge mistake in calling the strike in the summer rather than in the winter. EconBiz.Logger.logPageView(); The best work on Scargill was Michael Crick, Scargill and the Miners (1985). Your TV show 'White Light' presenter James Maw speaks to Union leader Arthur Scargill about what Trade unions can do for the youth of today. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f 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. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d 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. It only demonstrates the individual and threat he was. [9] When Bullough (unwell at the time) attempted to rule Scargill as "out of order", he was voted out by the area's delegates and a strike was declared across Yorkshire on the issue. He played an important role in the miners' strike of 1972 and was involved in the mass picket at Saltley Gate in Birmingham. [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. As for the EEC/EU, his anti- stance was in keeping with Labour Party Policy. The students, lesbian and gay rights movements also supported the miners as they could relate to their struggle. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (198485), a major event in the history of the British labour movement. The issue of Scargills leadership is argued as the main reason that the miners strike failed. By not calling a National Ballot the strike rapidly gained support. Somerset: Routledge, 2018. Put the custom structure back if you had one. Right click on the X and choose Properties. 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. However, Lawson then goes on to say The violent tactics used by the NUM pickets reopened the issue of Who governs Britain?. Thatcher deliberately chose to make the miners who continued to work look like heroes and make the striking miners look like the public enemy. [8] Beckett, Francis, and David Hencke. [35] Negotiations between Scargill and the NUM took place in France. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37592/How the Miners Strike could have won. RewriteRule . Harpercollins Publishers, 2012. UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. 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. Look for the .htaccess file in the list of files. "[28] This was in the Prime Minister's rejection of Labour calls for an apology for government actions during the 19841985 miners' strike. We also know that lots of support groups popped up to encourage the miners on in their fight. [54] He gave a rare television interview to ITV News at that time. He did not take the Eleven-Plus exam and went to Worsbrough Dale School (now called the Elmhirst School). 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. Scargill had condemned the killing at the time. He led an unofficial strike in 1969, and played a key organising role during strikes of 1972 and 1974, the latter of which played a part in the downfall of Edward Heath's Conservative government. The most notable of these being the Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC) mainly made up of miners wives or women that grew up in mining communities. Riddled with Stalinist politics and practice and some of the worst sectarianism imaginable, it has no meaningful existence today. Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. 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. 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. Edit the file on your computer and upload it to the server via FTP. But my father never forced me to be involved in politics at all.[5]. [17] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Wilsher, Peter, Donald Macintyre, and Michael CE Jones, eds. However, Kenneth OMorgan may be overemphasising the amount of support that the miners had as we know that Thatcher continuously demonised the miners in the media calling them the enemy within and this reduced a lot of public support for the strike. In May 2009, he was a candidate for the Socialist Labour Party for one of London's seats in the European Parliament. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3815426/. One of the main planks of his platform was to give more power to union conferences than to executive meetings, on the grounds that the former were more democratic. [18] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Because of Scargills actions, the strike was illegal, poorly supported and doomed to failure given the level of government preparations. Page 164. Accessed January 06, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/mar/07/arthur-scargill-miners-strike. This only reinforces the idea that it was Scargills decision not to call a ballot that lost him valuable support. Assess the view that the main reason for the failure of the miners strike in 1984 was the leadership of Arthur Scargill. RewriteEngine On A former Labour Party member, Scargill is now leader of the Socialist Labour Party (SLP), founded by him in 1996. It is also possible that you have inadvertently deleted your document root or the your account may need to be recreated. You may need to scroll to find it. [26], There is a prevailing view that Arthur Scargill, the NUM National President, called the strike. Arthur Scargill: We Could Surrender or Stand and Fight. The Guardian. London, 1984. "Leadership in the Miners Union-Scargill, Arthur Rise to Power. Authors: Scargill, Arthur; Kahn, Peggy: Publisher: Leeds [u.a.] 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]. Downing Street Years. He was not addressed or greeted from the platform, though as Honorary Life President of the NUM it might be expected, as a courtesy if nothing else, that his presence would be acknowledged. Would JD care to say why he writes in such a vindictive and aggressive style? Page 343-344. Aucun commentaire n'a t trouv aux emplacements habituels. This Mainstream media view holds that the strike failed because of Scargills extreme beliefs and bad decisions. This source is reliable as Kim Howells was a member of the NUM at the time of the strike but still discredits Scargills tactics. Accessed October 11, 2018. The myth of workers' control The myth of workers' control by Arthur Scargill, Peggy- Kahn Filter Results Shipping Eligible for Free Shipping Expedited Shipping Available Item Condition Seller Rating Other Options Change Currency + Add to Wishlist All All Copies ( 0 ) Currently there are no copies available. [5] However, we have to keep in mind that Tony Benn opposed the radical restrictions put on the striking miners as he thought they were unfair. Therefore, Milnes interpretation is supported by Ridleys in the fact that government preparations led to the downfall of the miners. My Style of Government: The Thatcher Years. 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. September 09, 2018. Written authorization is required for the purchase of tea and coffee. The Miners Strike Day by Day: The Illustrated 1984-85 Diary of Yorkshire Miner Arthur Wakefield. That is what we need to remember these days when we think of Scargill. 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]. S.l. Downing Street Years. 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. April 23, 2022 the myth of workers' control arthur scargill . Joining the NUM at the age of 19 in 1957, Scargill was one of its leading activists by the late 1960s. In stories told since the strike, the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Arthur Scargill, is strangely absent. 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. Margaret Thatcher. This was denied by the government at the time, although papers released in 2014 under the thirty-year rule suggest that Scargill was right. 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. 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]. London: Vintage, 2008. 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. His policy alienated most of the Nottinghamshire miners, undermined his position with the leaders of the trade union movement, hurt the union's reputation in British public opinion, and led to violence along the picket line. This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here. Person/Body (Historic): University of Leeds and Nottingham. //