Significance Of The Num's Defeat In The Miners Strike

The impact of the NUM’s defeat in the Miners’ Strike encompassed the entire social, political and economic spectrums, making some significant contribution in all of the three areas in some way or another. However, whether they are evidence of the Miners’ Strike’s significance or of another factor outside of its sphere will be made clearer through further analysis of the year-long crisis in the coal industry.
The NUM’s defeat in 1985 is generally seen as a major victory against the excessive power of labour. Labour movements found themselves on the back foot after the Miners’ Strike as a series of legislation aimed at curbing union power ensured that they could never threaten the nation to the extent that they did. Simon Jenkins argues that
The Labour leader, Neil Kinnock found himself “deliberately distancing itself [Labour] from the unions,”5 and “cauterizing – the Scargill factor.”6 Labour, forced by the outcome of the Miners’ Strike “to change its policies even more… in order to make itself electable,”7 abandoned its commitment to working-class interests by repealing Clause IV, once the cornerstone of its socialist policy. ‘New Labour’ with Tony Blair at the helm no longer had need for the trade unions’ support and, according to Alastair Campbell's diaries, Blair was quoted to have said that they can “just f**k off.”8 This clearly demonstrates how far Labour has distanced itself from the unions. At a speech in 1995, during a time of heated discussions over the removal of Clause IV, Blair commented on New Labour’s direction, stating that, “our relations with the trade unions changed and better defined for today's world.”9 However, perhaps Blair’s stated opinions on the party’s relationship with the unions may have been exaggerated as around the same time as his speech Labour support had dropped to 47% from a high of 53% earlier that year10. Therefore Blair may be emphasizing his anti-union rhetoric to win back support for his
Deprived of their one major source of employment, according to an Ayrshire local, “Thatcher won, but the fabric of society was shredded, torn up and destroyed.”23 Indeed the strike took its toll on the small, isolated mining communities where unemployment levels soared to 50% by the late 1980s24 and towns such as Wakefield in Yorkshire was classed as one of the most deprived areas in Europe.25 However, it’s important to contextualize the former’s account of events since his definition of “society” may be somewhat narrow, applying solely to the socio-economic fabric of mining communities. For example, not all primary industries experienced a downturn since the productivity of the oil and gas industry along with agriculture increased by 0.8% and 18.8%26 by 1990 respectively, meaning an increase in the prosperity of people and communities dependent on those industries for income and employment. Therefore the local from Ayrshire may simply be using such emotive language, instead of stating facts, in order to garner sympathy and