Davison History Department
The Miners Strike
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Causes
The 1972-74 Miners strike had paralysed the country; the Conservative Government was determined that this would not happen again. In the early 1980s the British Government started to limit subsidies (payments to help industries not making enough money to run) to British Mining, the National Union of Miners knew this would lead to job losses so started asking members to strike. In the early 1980s, the British Government were preparing for a battle with the miners and were determined to force through closures. They stock piled coal and other vital resources so the country would still function throughout any strike.
Development
On the 6th March 1984, the Government’s Coal Board announced that despite previous Government promises they would be closing 20 mines, costing 20,000 jobs. Many mining communities had no other industry meaning mass unemployment was likely.
On the 6th March 1984, miners at the Brampton Bierlow mine in South Yorkshire walked out on strike to complain about Government cuts. On the 12th March the leader of the National Miners Union, Arthur Scargill announced a national strike. The National Union of Miners, led by the passionate speaker Arthur Scargill, called for a national protest.
Miners from all over the country left work on unofficial strikes to protest against Government changes. Some workers broke the strike and went to work, as they weren’t official strikes many refused to follow them. This divided mining communities bitterly and even led families to fall apart. Some brothers and former friends have not spoken for over 30 years. Many close knit communities were destroyed.
On 3rd March 1985 miners, having not got the change they wanted, voted to return to work. In the battle the Government had won.
Consequences
Before the strike in 1983 Britain had 174 working mines, by 2009 they only had 6. The once proud mining community has been largely destroyed. The National Miners Union which had been one of the most powerful was now declining in influence. Margaret Thatcher’s government had won a key battle against the Unions and began to bring in strict laws limiting the ability of unions to strike.
Significance
Short – The miners returned to work without winning any concessions, the power of the Government was bolstered and they had won a key victory against the previously most powerful union. The 1984 Trade Unions Act made it very difficult for future strikes to be called.
Long - The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was so unpopular that many former mining communities celebrated her death in 2013. Many people see the defeat of the miners as the end of Union power in Britain, the workers who stood up to the Government did not get what they wanted and had to back down. Areas in which mines were the main industry suffered dramatically after the strike, with high unemployment, social deprivation and high levels of poverty. Grimethorpe in South Yorkshire was found to be the poorest area in the country. There has not been another strike that has affected the whole country in the same way since 1985.