The miners’ strike of 1984–85 was an epic struggle between the militant leader of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Arthur Scargill, and the equally militantly-minded government of Margaret Thatcher. The strike generated deep and lasting bitterness, partly because the miners were fighting for the very survival of their industry and its way of life, but also because of a series of violent clashes between striking miners and the police.
The miners’ strike was not about pay or working conditions, but was in protest against plans drawn up by the National Coal Board (NCB) for a comprehensive programme of pit closures in readiness for a shift towards nuclear energy. Scargill also reckoned, probably rightly, that Thatcher was itching for a showdown with the NUM, which had helped bring down Edward Heath’s government in 1974.
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