Mountaineer

Being a supporter of the trade union movement, has always been frustrating due to the left domination making it unworkable for the purpose that it was set up for. At the time of the big miners strike it appeared that the ruling government was set to take political control from the trade union, but to do this Britain had to sacrifice its mines. The public was informed that foreign import coal would be cheaper for the economy, and the workforce dispersed into other forms of employment. My thoughts were to keep our own coal, jobs in those communities and the jobs that were related to those industries. The unions decided to form a support group for the miners and families whilst on strike and to supply them with food. I went to meet every body at the shopping centre, we set up banners in support of the miners and spoke to shoppers who would put a couple of tins of food into a box, and all was lovely. I started to get to know my new found comrades, and yes comrades, Trotskyites, Stalinists, the full proletariat, and yes we all hated each over. As time went by we gathered less and less food, and people would shout get a job, and commies back to Russia and collecting become absolutely miserable. My concern was for the families of the miners, and the fight to save British jobs for the British born worker, so I carried on preying that the strike would end. At one time a press interview was set up about the campaign and the local Labourites tried hijacking the event for publicity which is quite usual. As the photographer was getting ready to take the photograph, I persuaded all the loony left that it would be a good idea to show their fist in the air, (well we were all Marxists here weren’t we? Was we Donald duck!) On the Friday the paper appeared on the streets and there they were, Labour exposed; job done. Nearing the end of the strike I volunteered to help take the food to one of the mining communities. On arrival I walked into their community centre, on the walls were socialist flags and banners, I thought I was in the Soviet Union. Tables were laid out with more food than you can image, I was treated like dog pile, and I have never heard more racist language in all my life. After a while of this I decided to wait outside until it was time to go, and I saw the police manning a barricade next to an oil drum with a warm fire. As I approached them, I heard one say, “put your helmets on”, and looked quite worried. After a while we all settled down around the fire, and had a chat, they told me that the overtime came in handy but was taking its toll on their wives and children, I listened sympathetically. The moral of this story? I don’t know but if the left are involved you know no good will come of it.

John Carter

.....Amen!

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There are three kinds of people in this world: Libertarians, fascists, and those who haven't been paying attention.

rjt

Scargill was a marxist who made it perfectly clear a year before the strike that if Thatcher could not be defeated at the ballet box he would look for other means to get rid of her.

Thatcher's victory was a pivotol moment for this country it proved that governments govern not the TU, for me it was one of her best moments.

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Mr Delors said that he wanted the European Parliament to be the democratic body of the community, The Commission to be The Executive and The Council Of Ministers The Senate. NO! NO! NO!
(Margaret Thatcher 30 Oct 1990)

Ignore List: The Prophets of ST Al the Unelectable.

Britannist

Exactly - the pinkos and reds are all about destruction (and hypocrisy).

Britannist

I absolutely agree with what RJT writes above.

Scargill's defeat was a great moment - they Government of the day should have called a National Public holiday and put all the flags out the moment Scargill conceded defeat (a defeat he and his leftist supporters richly deserved).

In defeating mining trade unionist and leftist Scargill in 1984, Mrs. (now Lady) Thatcher 'paid back' the trade unionist anti-democrats and militants for their attempts to try to bring down the Conservative Government ten years earlier through power cuts.

The totally useless europhile Heath proved incapable (as 'Conservative' Prime Minister) in standing up to Scargill and the mining trade union troublemakers in the period up to and including 1974 - so thank goodness Mrs. Thatcher came along later to see them off and teach them a lesson.

That lesson being (as RJT pointed out earlier) - that the democratically elected Government and not the mining union (and other unions) run the country.

What I thought was quite ridiculous was the way Scargill appeared to think at the start of 1984 that he could win against Mrs. Thatcher. If there was one Prime Minister which a militant trade unionist leftist such as Scargill was not going to win against in the 20th century - it was her. He stood nil chance of beating her in that dispute/start right from the start. He simply wasted a whole year of the lives of many decent miners when they were forced to follow him up a blind alley and he may have cost the jobs of more miners than would have been the case had the strike not taken place.

Mountaineer

kernow

I totally agree!

C_steam

Either way it was a human tragedy. The wounds still fester in the derby, notts and yorks coal fields - generally the old pit towns are still below average on practically every indicator. Go out for a night in mansfield, should you dare,

Loads of coal still underground, but we import all our needs, near as dammit.

Victory? maybe so, but in destroying scargill thatcher destroyed a proud industry.

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kernow

Do you not think people like Scargill should be destroyed?

Westcountryman

Absolutely.

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Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietam - "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty."