[22][23], Many found Scargill inspiring; many others found him frankly scary. Scargill joined the Labour Party in 1962. On platforms that enforce case-sensitivity example and Example are not the same locations. The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. (1998), Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10000684676, Occasional papers in industrial relations. Therefore, the fact that Scargill didnt call a National Ballot was irrelevant[11] as Tony Benn says, but the fact that Scargill authorised violent tactics that reduced public sympathy and misjudged situations may have been a factor in the failure of the miners strike. [13] Still the Enemy Within (2014). IMDb. Study for free with our range of university lectures! Page 150-152, [2] Campbell, John. In his diary he documents the battle at Orgreave on Monday 18th of June, 1984; Ive never seen so many of our lads altogether, it brought tears to my eyes[16]. [14] The section under "staff procedures" details how Scargill monitored head office staff: Mr. Scargill's vendetta against Head Office staff has at times descended to the most puerile and paranoic [sic] levels. Some scholars have concluded that Scargill's decisive tactical error was to substitute his famous flying picket for the holding of a national strike ballot. [19] Morgan, Kenneth O.Britain since 1945: The Peoples Peace. London: Constable, 2009. 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. "It's so hypocritical it's unreal," he said. Page 473. 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. However, we have to question Lawsons motives behind this, as he may have naturally blamed Scargill for the failure of the strike to protect his political reputation as it legitimises his role in opposing the strike. However, Wakefield also mentions the betrayal he felt by the Nottinghamshire miners who continued to work by saying The lads are in good spirits even if the majority of scabs are working. He was succeeded by Ian Lavery. After the Miners were beaten into submission in 1984and the rest of uscheated and swindled by that government and successive government afterwards. His comments followed a question in the Commons from Labour MP Lisa Nandy, who said the miners and their families deserved an apology for the mine closures. You've been found out. Somerset: Routledge, 2018. If anyone of them has any cause for complaint they are simply showing the door because they have no unions to speak for to stand up for the rights of any working man or woman in this country. Downing Street Years. The Enemy Within: The Secret War against the Miners. Page 341. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (198485), a major event in the history of the British labour movement. Having examined a range of factors which led to the failure of the miners strike in 1984, it has become clear that it was easy to just blame the leadership of Arthur Scargill as the ultimate factor that led to the strikes failure. . "Goodbye to all that? The Making of Neil Kinnock. London: Verso, 2014. [32] Benn, Tony. The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37592/How the Miners Strike could have won. The political power of the NUM and of most British trade unions was severely reduced. [9][11], A few months later, the president of the Yorkshire NUM died unexpectedly, and Scargill won the election for his replacement; the two posts were then combined and he held them until 1981. April 23, 2022 the myth of workers' control arthur scargill . Nevertheless, this shows that the strike didnt fail from the lack of support in general, but rather the lack of support from key figures such as the Neil Kinnock from the Labour Party, as well as the Nottinghamshire miners who, if they had supported the miners, would have guaranteed a different outcome for the strike. Your TV show 'White Light' presenter James Maw speaks to Union leader Arthur Scargill about what Trade unions can do for the youth of today. At the risk of paraphrasing, Karl Marx once wrote that the great figures of history appear first as tragedy and then as farce. By 1984 however the police were ready and neutralized the tactic with superior force. In pictures: Arthur Scargill's legacy Mr Scargill's election as NUM president in 1981 had an electrifying effect on the union movement. 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. Page 151. These days he only gets to speak at the crankiest of Stalinist events. This was to begin the argument of whether the actions of Thatcher and the state during the strike led to its failure. Page 341. the myth of workers' control arthur scargill the myth of workers' control arthur scargill on October 1, 2021 on October 1, 2021 [15] However, Scargill's statements in the years after becoming NUM president divided left-wing opinion with his support of the Soviet Union, most notably when he refused to support the TUC's positions on the Solidarity union in Poland or on the Soviet shooting down of the Korean Air Lines Flight 007. See also V. L. Allen, The Militancy of the British Miners (1981); N. Hagger, Scargill the Stalinist (1984); and "What Drives Arthur Scargill?"The Sunday Times of London (July 15, 1984).. Accessed January 06, 2019. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3503545.stm. Accessed October 11, 2018. "[46] Kitchen says that Scargill "has had 30 years of decent living out of the union, and he's got a pension that's second to none. He has contested two parliamentary elections. However, if the outcome of the 84-5 strike can be regarded, at one level, as a tragedy, then Scargills post-85 trajectory can only be viewed as an even deeper tragedy. Page 342. Staff members suddenly taken ill, or with long-standing medical appointments, require his personal consent to be absent from the office. Therefore, the overwhelming support for the strike could not be denied. Accessed October 10, 2018. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3815426/. He then went on to say: The deep disillusion of the mining communitywas spontaneous and genuine. The View from No. Not even many of the Stalinists he hangs round with. But my father never forced me to be involved in politics at all.[5]. Marching to the Fault Line: The 1984 Miners Strike and the Battle for Industrial Britain. 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 names of all incoming telephone callers are recorded on a central log. ARTHUR SCARGILL AND PEGGY KAHN - "THE MYTH OF WORKERS' CONTROL" - 1st . We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. 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. 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. The End of an Era Diaries 1980-90. It is possible that you may need to edit the .htaccess file at some point, for various reasons.This section covers how to edit the file in cPanel, but not what may need to be changed. Page 57. UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here. 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. He cannot resist pointing out parallels in all times and places. I've always said that if Arthur can no longer control the NUM, he'll try and destroy it. It only demonstrates the individual and threat he was. By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. As for the EEC/EU, his anti- stance was in keeping with Labour Party Policy. The same nationalism explains why Arthur Scargill, alongside his industrial militancy, supports a not-at-all-militant programme of import controls, withdrawal from the EEC, and siege economy. The issue of Scargills leadership is argued as the main reason that the miners strike failed. Brexit: Labour movement debate, not talk with Tories! March 10, 2004. EconBiz.Logger.logPageView(); The Institute for Workers' Control was formed in 1968, building on a series of conferences over several years, to act as a research and educational body, to encourage discussion and communication between workers' control groups and trade unions, and to publish important materials on industrial democracy and workers' control. [19] The NUM had previously held three ballots on a national strike, all of which rejected the proposal: 55% voted against in January 1982, and 61% voted against in both October 1982 and March 1983.[20]. 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. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (1984-85), a major event in the history of the British labour movement. : A Review of Literature on the 1984/5 Miners' Strike.". Many of us started in the 1950s in the Young Communist League. ",confirmDelete: "Are you sure you want to delete this? Page 317. There was some controversy in February 1985 when Times journalist Paul Routledge engaged the Queen in discussion on the strike, and the Queen said that the strike was "all about one man", which Routledge objected to. ",confirmEmpty: "Are you sure you want to empty your clipboard? (The Yorkshire Left had already decided to stand him as their candidate even before the strike.) Accessed October 10, 2018. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37592/How the Miners Strike could have won. Peter, Gibbon. That is what we need to remember these days when we think of Scargill. his position on freedom movements In communist states such as Poland, was unforgivable He is rightly labelled a Stalinist, along with Corbyn. Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) [1] is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. [5] However, we have to keep in mind that Tony Benn opposed the radical restrictions put on the striking miners as he thought they were unfair. Industrial Democracy in Italy: Workers Co-ops and the Self-management Debate Mark Holmstrom, Mark Holmstrm Snippet view - 1989. 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. However, Lawson then goes on to say The violent tactics used by the NUM pickets reopened the issue of Who governs Britain?. [33], In July 1990, the NUM executive voted unanimously to sue Scargill and general secretary Peter Heathfield. If you have already uploaded the file then the name may be misspelled or it is in a different folder. A dialogue box may appear asking you about encoding. "Our communities are now just about dead on their feet." The strike started in Yorkshire in March . During this time, he earned the esteem of significant sections of the left and the British working class, who saw him as honest, hard-working and genuinely concerned with their welfare,[12] and he was also respected for improving the administration of the compensation agent's post. Harpercollins Publishers, 2012. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. The miners also failed to gain the support of the dock workers in strike effort. of the other candidates claimed that they were given very little time to prepare. Many people argue that government preparations led to the failure of the strike. London: Vintage, 2008. This shows that even someone who takes the traditional mainstream media view, that because of Scargills actions the strike was poorly supported and doomed to fail, you cant deny the amount of support that the miners had. Vast majority of people work retail or asBarristersselling fancycoffee to people on the way to work in offices, most of them on single hour contracts working in retail parks or business parks built on the ground of old mine, steelworks and potteries that used to employ tens of thousands of men and now employ the best part of 100. Begin the argument of whether the actions of Thatcher and the state during the strike. forced..., in July 1990, the overwhelming support for the EEC/EU, his anti- stance was in keeping with Party! Workers & # x27 ; control & quot ; - 1st tragedy then. Since 2003, your UKEssays purchase is secure and we 're rated 4.4/5 on.... 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