the myth of workers' control arthur scargill
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[45], For years the NUM had been paying 34,000 annual rent for the flat on Scargill's instructions, without the knowledge of NUM members or many senior officials; Scargill claimed the NUM should continue funding his flat for the rest of his life, and thereafter for any widow who survived him. By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. When you encounter a 404 error in WordPress, you have two options for correcting it. This article about a political figure is a stub. Strike: When Britain Went to War. In Defence of Marxism. The Museum at Work; Health, Wellbeing and Amgueddfa Cymru ; Collections Online. 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 . He was a destructive force, in the Labour Party, and in the NUM. 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. It's easy to mock Arthur Scargill. . However, if it had gone the other way the Yorkshire area would have come out and other areas would have to decide whether to give support. National Archives: Margaret Thatcher Wanted to Crush Power of Trade Unions. The Guardian. [31] In addition, it was alleged that he had taken 1,000,000 of cash donated by the Soviet Union for the Welsh miners and placed it in a Dublin bank account for the "International Miners' Organisation", where it stayed until a year after the strike had finished. September 09, 2018. The students, lesbian and gay rights movements also supported the miners as they could relate to their struggle. London: Routledge, 2019. This included Norman Tebbits radical reforms[39] as put by Tony Benn, who was newly elected to the mining seat and a clear supporter of the 1984-85 Miners strike[40]. 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. [17], The government announced on 6 March 1984 its intention to close 20 coal mines, revealing as well the plan in the long-term to close over 70 pits. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. This is given credence by the fact that Scargill authorised these violent tactics, which decreased public sympathy for the Miners which was actually their greatest asset[10]. The names of all incoming telephone callers are recorded on a central log. [he fails to see that] the working class is a world class. In 2012, the flat was valued at 1,500,000, and had 24/7 access to concierge services. Harpercollins Publishers, 2012. [15] How the Miners Strike Could Have Won. Socialist Worker (Britain). Thatcher disregarded how much of an impact the WAPC would have on the strike as many of the striking ladies figured out that if they went out picketing then they would less likely be targeted by police. Page 317. It was a major political victory for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party. Seumas Milne portrays the Marxist view that the government went over the top with the preparations in order to see the miners strike fail and bring down the unions altogether. In May 2009, he was a candidate for the Socialist Labour Party for one of London's seats in the European Parliament. This lack of support can be blamed on the leadership of Arthur Scargill; therefore, the leadership of Arthur Scargill is a more important factor in the failure of the miners strike in 1985. On 25 August 2010, it was reported that Scargill had been told that he no longer qualified for full membership of the NUM under union rules that he had helped draw up, but was only eligible for "life", "retired" or "honorary" membership, none of which carried voting rights. I suggest to this Conference that we have coal mines with us but they did something about this problem: they closed them down. Looking for a flexible role? His father, Harold, was a miner and a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L] [34] Wakefield, Arthur, and Brian Elliot. his position on freedom movements In communist states such as Poland, was unforgivable He is rightly labelled a Stalinist, along with Corbyn. "Scargill" redirects here. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d [57] Scargill supported the 2022 United Kingdom railway strike, joining an RMT picket line in Wakefield on 21 June 2022. Therefore, the argument that Scargills leadership could have been one of the reasons that the miners strike failed is partly true as we know that due to Scargills decision to not call a national ballot he ended up losing key supporters such as the Labour party and many members of the public who couldnt support the strike as it was unofficial and didnt favour Scargills violent tactics. [33] Milne, Seumas. Harpercollins Publishers, 2012. That's what I believe". London: Vintage, 2008. Page 343-344. This is portrayed by Kenneth OMorgan, who takes a clear mainstream media view. In pictures: Arthur Scargill's legacy Mr Scargill's election as NUM president in 1981 had an electrifying effect on the union movement. Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales. You may get a 404 error for images because you have Hot Link Protection turned on and the domain is not on the list of authorized domains. The coal stocks at power stations held out[20]. Therefore, Thatcher and her governments actions could have caused the failure of the strike but to what extent these actions can be justified is still widely argued. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world . By not calling a National Ballot the strike rapidly gained support. ",email_success: "Message Sent",bulk_noitems_advice: "No items were selected. London: Fontana, 1992. [39] Benn, Tony. He cannot resist pointing out parallels in all times and places. This strengthens Milnes argument that the police brutality, authorised by Thatcher, was unjustified. [29] Thatcher, Margaret. Somerset: Routledge, 2018. Arguably, one of the most important factors in the failure of the Miner's Strike in 1984 was the leadership of the head of NUM, Arthur Scargill. [56], In July 2021 he spoke at the Rebel Town Festival in Jarrow. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f the myth of workers' control arthur scargill the myth of workers' control arthur scargill on October 1, 2021 on October 1, 2021 However, Lawson then goes on to say The violent tactics used by the NUM pickets reopened the issue of Who governs Britain?. [5] Benn, Tony. If not, correct the error or revert back to the previous version until your site works again. Wilsher, Peter, Donald Macintyre, and Michael CE Jones, eds. Their support would have been vital if they were to win the strike; this is presented by Cabinet minutes which show that Thatchers priority was to settle the dock strike as quickly as possible in order to allow the government to concentrate on winning the miners strike[15]. In 1973, Scargill was elected to the full-time post of compensation agent in the Yorkshire NUM. But my father never forced me to be involved in politics at all.[5]. I think if it had been made public before then there'd have been a huge outcry. If being ignored is the ultimate retribution forscargill, then he is a lucky man, for if he had espoused his views in some of the countrieswith which he wanted to align us, his best outcome would have been breaking rocks but more likely he would have disappeared never to be heard of again. Either way, please contact your web host immediately. [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. On any measure, Scargill was a failure who brought hardship down on those who followed him, now a pitiful figure. [37] Campbell, John. The Enemy Within: M15, Maxwell and the Scargill Affair. Page 341. The miners had already built up a fearsome reputation as the shock troops for organised labour and during his time as leader of the Yorkshire coalfield, Mr Scargill had rarely been out of the news. [32] Benn, Tony. 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. . They were released from prison in November 1989. [4] UK | Politics | Head to Head: The Miners Strike. BBC News. 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, In , He was right. Accessed September 16, 2018. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3815426/. Accessed October 12, 2018. In stories told since the strike, the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Arthur Scargill, is strangely absent. of the other candidates claimed that they were given very little time to prepare. Notice that the CaSe is important in this example. By 1984 however the police were ready and neutralized the tactic with superior force. However, he does give credit to the harsh tactics taken by the miners that may have cut out any support for the Nottinghamshire miners; The only legitimate question that may be raised about the tactics of the NUM nationally was whether the Yorkshire miners, by picketing Nottinghamshire so early and so vigorously, alienated those they were seeking to influence. He then went on to say: The deep disillusion of the mining communitywas spontaneous and genuine. In conclusion to my little rant, unions were formed for the betterment of its members, not to be used as a personal vehicle for selfish political dogma. 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]. Regardless, we have to be careful when using Arthur Wakefield as a source as his diary entries will reflect his heightened emotions after a day of striking that may not truly reflect the real situation. Essay Writing Service. T he council chamber at the Barnsley HQ of the National Union of Mineworkers is a jaw-dropping sight: a huge, oak-panelled room, draped with banners that were once kept at collieries across. 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]. In this example the file must be in public_html/example/Example/. However, Margaret Thatchers intentions in this source have to be questioned as this book was published in 1993 after Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister in 1990, therefore she may have been trying to justify her actions and downplay the use of police in the miners strike. The view that the failure to call a National Ballot, by Scargill, cost him valuable support is advocated by Shirley Letwin; Nor did he bother to abide by his own unions rules which required that a strike shall be entered upon as the result of a ballot vote of the members.[1] This led to the miners losing the support of many, including Labour Partys- Neil Kinnock, who felt emotionally disposed to support the miners but aware that it would be political suicide to do so[2]. Scargill had the ability to do great things; Pity he got in the way of his own opportunities, and could not see Communism as a failed ideology that blighted every country in which it held sway. Travis, Alan. Page 22. 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. EconBiz.Logger.enable_visibilityState_tracking(); If it wasnt for Thatchers continued support for the Nottinghamshire miners, the strike would have had their support which may have been vital in the success of the strike. [4] He joined the Young Communist League in 1955, becoming its Yorkshire District Chair in 1956 and shortly after a member of its National Executive Committee. January 07, 2000. 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). Arthur Scargill is a British trade unionist who was the president of the National Union of Mineworkers. Harpercollins Publishers, 2012. The myth of workers' control: We are fighting for the survival of our culture: Selected Co-authors Countries and Regions of . Page 473. https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/jan/07/guardianletters4, https://www.marxist.com/britain-when-britain-went-to. He was succeeded by Ian Lavery. Amazingly the electorate resent being told they're either racist or stupid or both, if the remain campaign had been more mature in it's approach, almost certainly a different decision would have been reached. . The editor of the Daily Mirror at the time, Roy Greenslade, wrote an article in The Guardian in May 2002 to apologise to Scargill for the false claims about paying off the mortgage and for putting too much trust in Roger Windsor, who at the time had still not repaid the 29,500 that he had taken from the Miners' Welfare Fund and that the Lightman Report had asked that he repay. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. It only demonstrates the individual and threat he was. That violence strengthened the stature of the Coal Board and the Thatcher government. In fact, other factors such as the governments intense preparations came into play. Scargill, once the hero of the miners, now cuts a rather sad, isolated figure and this is a complex post-1985 story. Marching to the Fault Line: The 1984 Miners Strike and the Battle for Industrial Britain. Yet he was a decisive figure in the great strike of 1984-85. Scargill also cleverly manipulated the NUM rule book creating a serious constitutional debate. Barnsley: Wharncliffe, 2002. ",confirmDelete: "Are you sure you want to delete this? Barnsley: Wharncliffe, 2002. [28] Travis, Alan. The party was established in 1996 and is led by Arthur Scargill, a former Labour Party member and the former leader of the National Union of Mineworkers. The union is known for leading the longest as well as the most violent miners` strike in the history of British history. Scargill had condemned the killing at the time. This is because had the NUM come out nationally in favour of the strike, Nottinghamshire area would have won permission for its own ballot and remained at work. The Myth of Control: Created by Mikail Chowdhury, Sana Soni. 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. In 1990, Scargill was accused in a series of Daily Mirror articles of mishandling money donated for the striking miners during the 19841985 strike, with many of the sources being those who had previously worked with him in the NUM such as Kim Howells, Jim Parker and Roger Windsor. Assess the view that the main reason for the failure of the miners strike in 1984 was the leadership of Arthur Scargill. His one man mission to bring down the elected government, for a second time, and destroy Thatcherism was not only not accomplished ,it only served to strengthen the Conservative Government and Thatchers dominance of the political landscape for over a decade. Nigel Lawson describes how the government were able to persuade the working miners to cross the violent picket lines; Those who continued to work were portrayed as heroes (and behind the scenes a considerable amount of private money was raised to help them resist the Scargillite intimidation)[30]. jQuery(function() { Logger.logCoid("61c4e44a-8d58-45d2-8bc5-5fc2bd749aae"); Accessed October 10, 2018. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37592/How the Miners Strike could have won. In 1961, Scargill was elected a member of the Woolley NUM Branch Committee. (The Yorkshire Left had already decided to stand him as their candidate even before the strike.) Accessed October 11, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/jan/07/guardianletters4. [24] Letwin, Shirley Robin. March 07, 2009. "Analysing the British miners' strike of 19845.". Downing Street Years. Person/Body (Historic): A. Taylor & Sons Ltd. The 84/5 miners strike brought great hardship, but achieved nothing. (You may need to consult other articles and resources for that information.). Arthur Scargill: We Could Surrender or Stand and Fight. The Guardian. 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]. [36] In September 1990, the Certification Officer brought criminal charges against Scargill and Heathfield for wilfully neglecting to perform the union's duty to keep proper accounting records. However, many people argue that there was a lot of support for the strike so therefore it couldnt have been such an important factor in its failure in 1985. It was not , and will not ever be the liberator of the working Class, but their oppressors. : Univ. 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. The appointment of Ian McGregor as head of the NCB can be seen as a failure on Thatchers behalf showing that the governments preparations were insufficient to cause the strike to fail. [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". RewriteRule . . 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. Written authorization is required for the purchase of tea and coffee. However, Scargill was well known for being a formidable organiser and conference-hall speaker[6]. 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. ." It is a world of despair, of ashes, and coldness, and darkness, and the setting acts as a . The best work on Scargill was Michael Crick, Scargill and the Miners (1985). [35] Negotiations between Scargill and the NUM took place in France. Scargill, Solidarity and Workers Revolutionary Party ( Book ) Margaret Thatcher, face aux mineurs : 1972-1985, treize annes qui ont chang l'Angleterre by Pierre-Franois Gouiffs ( Book ) However, it can be argued that the government limited its role in upholding law and order in a dispute between the NUM and the NCB. He had a powerful speaking capability which garnered much passionate support from those who watched or saw his speeches. National Archives: Margaret Thatcher Wanted to Crush Power of Trade Unions.. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Exciting, witty Arthur Scargill brought coalmining to a close in Britain far faster than would have happened had the NUM been led by some prevaricating, dreary old-style union hack. However, we have to be careful when using this source as evidence as Scargill may have been trying to justify his actions to save himself criticism. Test your website to make sure your changes were successfully saved. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the trade union movement. [53] He was not attending any of the events to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the 1984 strike at the NUM. Scargill, along with veteran left-wing Labour MP Tony Benn, campaigned to free strikers Russell Shankland and Dean Hancock from prison. It is also possible that you have inadvertently deleted your document root or the your account may need to be recreated. Accessed October 11, 2018. It turned into a confrontation with the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in which the miners' union was defeated. Scargill led the union in the 19841985 miners' strike. After the Miners were beaten into submission in 1984and the rest of uscheated and swindled by that government and successive government afterwards. ", R.R. I then thought of things rather differently. You can try renaming that file to .htaccess-backup and refreshing the site to see if that resolves the issue. We always have to be aware of the enemy within, which is much more difficult to fight and more dangerous to liberty[28]. Shankland's and Hancock's life sentences for murder were reduced to eight years for manslaughter on appeal. Page 13. [9] He had challenged Sam Bullough, the President of the Yorkshire area NUM, to act on the working hours of surface workers, given that the union's conference had passed a resolution that their hours be shortened the previous year. Page 317. He is looking for socialism in one country, and since that is impossible he ends up with a recipe of capitalism in one country.
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the myth of workers' control arthur scargill