Are you using WordPress? [5] Benn, Tony. Scargill has so burnt his bridges with the NUM and the broad left of the labour movement that his name is never mentioned at Durham miners' gala or at other miners' strike commemorations. When you encounter a 404 error in WordPress, you have two options for correcting it. In stories told since the strike, the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Arthur Scargill, is strangely absent. It turned into a confrontation with the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in which the miners' union was defeated. [he fails to see that] the working class is a world class. London: Routledge, 2019. By not calling a National Ballot the strike rapidly gained support. [16] Wakefield, Arthur, and Brian Elliot. of Leeds [u.a.] Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Both the Marxist view and the mainstream media view gives credit to government preparations showing this was definitely an important factor in the failure of the strike. The Essay Writing ExpertsUK Essay Experts. [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. UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. Another factor in the failure of the miners strike, in 1984, is government involvement. Happily, his saintly wife spent her time, during his period of madness, doing all she could to bring practical help and comfort to the hardest hit families. With Fay Hauser, Olivia Haller, Doris Morgado, Chrystee Pharris. He was the President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1981 to 2002 and has served as leader of the Socialist Labour Party, a political party he founded, since 1996. 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. [8], Scargill was a leader of the unofficial strike in 1969, which began in Yorkshire and spread across the country. 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. 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. 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. He was succeeded by Ian Lavery. [28] Travis, Alan. 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. Therefore, the argument that Scargills leadership could have been one of the reasons that the miners strike failed is partly true as we know that due to Scargills decision to not call a national ballot he ended up losing key supporters such as the Labour party and many members of the public who couldnt support the strike as it was unofficial and didnt favour Scargills violent tactics. Would JD care to say why he writes in such a vindictive and aggressive style? Thatcher, herself, advances this view in her memoirs The Downing Street Years and echoed by many other Thatcherites such as Nigel Lawson, Shirley Letwin and historians such as John Campbell. Scargill, along with veteran left-wing Labour MP Tony Benn, campaigned to free strikers Russell Shankland and Dean Hancock from prison. Please click on a checkbox next to an item and try again. Scargill joined the Labour Party in 1962. Harpercollins Publishers, 2012. Was this national or local? In fact, other factors such as the governments intense preparations came into play. [18], Miners were split between those who supported the strike and those who opposed it (see Union of Democratic Mineworkers). Accessed October 12, 2018. RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L] [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". 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. You've been found out. It was alleged that, of the money donated from Libya, Scargill took 29,000 for his own bridging loan and 25,000 for his home in Yorkshire, but gave only 10,000 to the striking Nottinghamshire miners. Peter, Gibbon. ." It is a world of despair, of ashes, and coldness, and darkness, and the setting acts as a . Arrow, 1994. The miners also failed to gain the support of the dock workers in strike effort. 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. [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. Scargill admitted there was 'bad blood' between him and the NUM general secretary Chris Kitchen, who said, "I honestly do believe that Arthur, in his own world, believes that the NUM is here to afford him the lifestyle that he's become accustomed to. Another controversial action that Thatcher took was giving the police ultimate power during the strike. [37] Scargill reached an agreement to repay money to the NUM shortly after this. 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]. [56], In July 2021 he spoke at the Rebel Town Festival in Jarrow. This was denied by the government at the time, although papers released in 2014 under the thirty-year rule suggest that Scargill was right. [38] Thatcher, Margaret. //--> September 09, 2018. Page 22. At the time, Britain had 170 working. The Enemy Within: The Secret War against the Miners. Seumas Milne portrays the Marxist view that the government went over the top with the preparations in order to see the miners strike fail and bring down the unions altogether. This varies by browser, if you do not see a box on your page with a red X try right clicking on the page, then select View Page Info, and goto the Media Tab. : A Review of Literature on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike.". In pictures: Arthur Scargill's legacy Mr Scargill's election as NUM president in 1981 had an electrifying effect on the union movement. [37] Campbell, John. For other uses, see, Early political and trade union activities. [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. Which makes his present-day role (such as it is) in politics all the more tragic. Accessed October 12, 2018. July 31, 2013. This was a complete reversal of the policy that was promised by the Labour Government before it was put into office this represents a betrayal of the mining industry. "[44] However, in December 2012, Scargill lost a similar case concerning rent on his flat in the Barbican, London. ", Old Labour party constiturion, Clause 4 part IV, Yorkshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, "Arthur Scargill joins Battle of Saltley Gate 40th anniversary celebration", "The Nottinghamshire Miners, The Union of Democratic Mineworkers and the 198485 Miners' Strike: Scabs or Scapegoats? 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]. McIlroy, J. 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. "[40] Scargill complained to the Advertising Standards Authority who criticised the advertisement as "highly distasteful". This source is reliable as Kim Howells was a member of the NUM at the time of the strike but still discredits Scargills tactics. Bone figurines of waterbirds made about 16,000 B. C., which were found in Mal'ta in Siberia, share the symbolism of the wild gander . We also remember his relatively principled role within the UK labour movement of the 1970s and 80s. Nothing good about it. The party was established in 1996 and is led by Arthur Scargill, a former Labour Party member and the former leader of the National Union of Mineworkers. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. [32] Benn, Tony. 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. Redirects and rewriting URLs are two very common directives found in a .htaccess file, and many scripts such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and Magento add directives to the .htaccess so those scripts can function. He lost on both occasions, winning 2.4% of the vote in Hartlepool at the 2001 general election. A former Labour Party member, Scargill is now leader of the Socialist Labour Party (SLP), founded by him in 1996. [60][61], London Assembly elections (entire London city). [1] Letwin, Shirley Robin. Study for free with our range of university lectures! ", Gildart, Keith. 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. of the other candidates claimed that they were given very little time to prepare. [35] The Truth of Nacods Shameful Sell-out. The Guardian. [6] Marr, Andrew. //