By Keira (Y13)
1984. The year that signalled the end to the UK’s industrial past. From March 1984 to March 1985, 33% of the mining population of the UK, 221,000 people, went on a strike to save their way of living, their communities. They were unsuccessful but the legacy of their historic strike and the consequences of their failure are still with us today. The strike was called off in March 1985 when the miners could no longer support themselves on community charity and the limited benefits available. The failure of the strike was a death knell for the mines and the Unions.
In the 1980s coal mining was in decline in the British Isles and the PM, Margaret Thatcher, was keen to follow through on her promise that all unprofitable industries would be closed if the Government had the power. In the case of the mines, the Government did have the power. In 1984, 20 pit closures were announced. At this point in time the majority of mines were located in Yorkshire and the Northeast with a few in Central Scotland and South Wales. These areas already suffered from high levels of poverty and worse health than in the South, the loss of their primary source of employment would only make it worse.
To protect the mines the National Union of Mineworker’s chairman, Arthur Scargill, called a national strike. He did not hold the newly required ballot needed to authorise the strike nor did he have the support to guarantee a strike if he did hold one. The strike struggled along with violence directed towards those who returned to work, the “scabs”, widespread. These tensions within communities were brought to head during the Battel of Orgreave in June. The Battle consisted of 5000 miners facing 7000 police officers, many who had been sent from the South as reinforcements, over the attempted blockage of coal lorries in South Yorkshire. There were 11,000 arrests and 8000 prosecutions following the riot but no recognition of police brutality until the South Yorkshire Police Force were forced to pay compensations in 1991 for assault, unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution.
Whilst we seem to be a world away from this brutal era, the lines that were drawn during the strike, those between the North and South, still affect us today. The North of the country still suffers from higher levels of poverty, unemployment and lower life expectancy than in the South. However, the most shocking legacy of the strike is how it is remembered. For those in the North it is still a fresh wound, but elsewhere? It’s barely mentioned, a faded memory of a long-gone society. We forget that the actions taken in one region affect the others. We a share a history and as such we share the failures of the miners’ strike but also the fierce hope and pride that drove them to stand up for their communities. That is the true legacy of the strike and should never be forgotten.
