However, In , He was right. Page 317. The Making of Neil Kinnock. 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. She even admitted to appointing Peter Walker as Secretary of State for Energy because of his negotiating skills and said he was also a skilled communicator, something in which I knew would be important if we were to retain public support in the coal strike[29]. Which makes his present-day role (such as it is) in politics all the more tragic. # End WordPress. 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]. Joining the NUM at the age of 19 in 1957, Scargill was one of its leading activists by the late 1960s. March 07, 2009. I've always said that if Arthur can no longer control the NUM, he'll try and destroy it. He also stated regarding Brexit that "we should just invoke the first clause of Article 50 and that means we could leave the EU tomorrow". 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. 100 1 _ a . [7], Scargill became involved in the Yorkshire Left, a group of left-wing activists involved in the Yorkshire region of the NUM, its largest region. [19] Morgan, Kenneth O.Britain since 1945: The Peoples Peace. Not even many of the Stalinists he hangs round with. 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?] 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. The authorities must be using the army[32]. The union is known for leading the longest as well as the most violent miners` strike in the history of British history. Arthur Wakefield, a striking miner, presents the Marxist view that the failure of the strike couldnt have been down to the lack of support and instead must have been due to other factors. The Enemy Within: The Secret War against the Miners. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. you only have to look at the current state of our country after Cov19torealise that we have noindustry left! This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here. Page 473. "[40] Scargill complained to the Advertising Standards Authority who criticised the advertisement as "highly distasteful". In stories told since the strike, the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Arthur Scargill, is strangely absent. [40] Tony Benn. Wikipedia. Change the settings back to the previous configuration (before you selected Default). 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]. 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. Edit the file on your computer and upload it to the server via FTP. 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. He had no means of calling a strike in Yorkshire.[27]. [9] At the subsequent enquiry, he used notebooks of underground working from the 19th century, retrieved from the Institute of Geological Sciences in Leeds, to argue that the National Coal Board could have prevented the disaster had they acted on the information available. [35] Negotiations between Scargill and the NUM took place in France. RewriteBase / Atvery lease Mr Scargill was a leader of man and lead them unlike our current prime minister who couldn't lead a pack of sheep out of a field even though he resemble one. 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. Accessed January 06, 2019. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3503545.stm. Barnsley: Wharncliffe, 2002. In the 2001 general election, he ran against Peter Mandelson in Hartlepool. However, Lawson then goes on to say The violent tactics used by the NUM pickets reopened the issue of Who governs Britain?. At the time, Britain had 170 working. The strike of 1984 was covered in detail by the press. ",email_success: "Message Sent",bulk_noitems_advice: "No items were selected. Scargill led the union in the 19841985 miners' strike. The Anatomy of Thatcherism. [7] Scargill, Arthur. It is reported that the police were getting between 600 and 1000 a week and many people believed that there just arent that many police available to move about. RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L] UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. [15] How the Miners Strike Could Have Won. Socialist Worker (Britain). Arthur Scargill, with his odd and sometimes monomaniacal-seeming habit of referring to himself in the third person, was in some ways a throwback to turn-of-the-century radicalism, a syndicalist . 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. ", Gildart, Keith. This had great implications for regional relations in the NUM; the executive was described as dominated by "Gormley's rotten boroughs", since every region even quite small ones had one delegate, and the larger regions had only a few more (Scotland and South Wales had two delegates each, Yorkshire had three). 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. His application was refused because the flat in the Barbican Estate's Shakespeare Tower was not Scargill's primary residence. In the 1997 general election, he ran against Alan Howarth, a defector from the Conservative Party to Labour, who had been given the safe seat of Newport East to contest. "Analysing the British miners' strike of 19845.". Arrow, 1994. He is looking for socialism in one country, and since that is impossible he ends up with a recipe of capitalism in one country. This was seen as violent and was deemed illegal. of the other candidates claimed that they were given very little time to prepare. McIlroy, J. This strengthens Milnes argument that the police brutality, authorised by Thatcher, was unjustified. [26], There is a prevailing view that Arthur Scargill, the NUM National President, called the strike. The Essay Writing ExpertsUK Essay Experts. April 23, 2022 the myth of workers' control arthur scargill . The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. [he fails to see that] the working class is a world class. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37592/How the Miners Strike could have won. Page 317. Strike: When Britain Went to War. In Defence of Marxism. Sadly, all these new political halfwits who think it is smart to ignorethe pieces of history that doesnt suit them, bangingon about the way theysee the future ignoring the fact it should be the way we all would like to see it, should remember the silent majority is just that, ignore it of forget it at your peril. He then went on to say: The deep disillusion of the mining communitywas spontaneous and genuine. He has contested two parliamentary elections. Many people blame him for the failure of Miners Strike due to his poor leadership skills and bad judgement. . Kim Howells discusses how Neil Kinnock argued that real power lay at the ballot box[4]. Chris Kitchen said: "I would say it's time to walk away, Mr Scargill. Margaret Thatcher: From Grocers Daughter to Iron Lady. He cannot resist pointing out parallels in all times and places. Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales. Ian White talks exclusively to Arthur Scargill, 84, on 50th anniversary of the Battle of Saltley Gate in Birmingham 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] In 1957 he was elected NUM Yorkshire Area Youth Delegate, and attended the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow as a representative of the Yorkshire miners. [22][23], Many found Scargill inspiring; many others found him frankly scary. 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 . 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. The strike started in Yorkshire, and he was not present at the delegate Council meeting in Barnsley. You may need to scroll to find it. 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. Clearly, Scargill did fall out of favour with the Socialist movement, perhaps because it became evident that he was only happy when he was in the limelight. 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. . [27] Thatcher, Margaret. In fact, stocks were much higher[27]. Person/Body (Historic): University of Leeds and Nottingham. Accessed October 11, 2018. This is portrayed by Kenneth OMorgan, who takes a clear mainstream media view. Therefore, we must conclude that whilst Arthur Scargills leadership was an important factor in the failure of the strike, it would be wrong to assume that this was the main reason as without the lack of support, especially from the Nottinghamshire miners, as well as the governments preparations, such as the stockpiling of coal, the miners strike might not have failed. [28] Travis, Alan. He also represented the Barnsley Co-op at Cooperative congresses. (1978), CONTESTING THE MARKET: PAY EQUITY AND THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING, Eigart, Deborah M., Darlington, "There is no alternative: Exploring the options in the 1984-5 miners' strike. Page 342. [8] Nigel Lawson, who takes a clear mainstream media view on the Miners strike and even admits the left-wing majority on the NUM executive insisted, however dubiously, that Rule 43 of the union allowed for a strike without a ballot[9] showing that although many people didnt agree with it, including him, it was actually permissible. The myth of workers' control: We are fighting for the survival of our culture: Selected Co-authors Countries and Regions of . The Miners Strike Day by Day: The Illustrated 1984-85 Diary of Yorkshire Miner Arthur Wakefield. ", Howell, David, et al. 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. 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. Page 414. The Alliance for Workers' Liberty is an organisation fighting as part of the labour movement for a socialist alternative to both capitalism and Stalinism, based on common ownership and democracy. [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". London: Pan Books, an Imprint of Pan Macmillan, 2017. [39], During the media controversy, the antiperspirant Mitchum used Scargill's image, without his consent, under the slogan "Mitchum, for when you're really sweating! This will reset the permalinks and fix the issue in many cases. vufindString = {bulk_email_success: "Your item(s) were e-mailed",bulk_save_success: "Your item(s) were saved successfully",close: "close",loading: "Loading",sms_success: "Message sent. Milne, Seumas. " She makes some bold accusations about when Scargill and his cohorts were accused of serious irregularities in the handling of union funds but this is unconvincing as it has never been proven true. But Rule 43 said that a national strike can only be called if there was a ballot. The Myth of Workers' Control (booklet) Person/Body (Historic): Scargill, Arthur. [33] Milne, Seumas. 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. First shown: 06/. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. He claimed that the government had a long-term strategy to destroy the industry by closing unprofitable pits, and that it listed pits it wanted to close each year. Please click on a checkbox next to an item and try again. A lot of other people on the National Executive at that time went on and became very respectable Labour MPs in Parliament. This is supported by Margaret Thatcher herself; His (Ian McGregor) impression was that the police were failing to uphold criminal law and that the pickets had been able to prevent people going to work[38]. London: Verso, 2014. Page 342. In the event, it turned out to be the exact blueprint that the government followed[21]. [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 mentions how the strikers overtime ban was biting deep into power-station coal stocks and goes on to say If it was allowed to continue until the autumn, managers warned, a twelve-week strike would be enough to put the countrys lights out[26]. An article published in The Times in August 2015 stated that Scargill had spoken to the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union conference in June 2015, and that he was due to appear alongside Jeremy Corbyn at the Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign in September 2015. [6] Marr, Andrew. [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. The Guardian. : A Review of Literature on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike. 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