In 1984 I spent 12 months photographing the Miners' Strike in the UK. The dispute started when the Conservative government, led by Margaret Thatcher, announced the closure of Cortonwood Colliery in...
In 1984 I spent 12 months photographing the Miners' Strike in the UK. The dispute started when the Conservative government, led by Margaret Thatcher, announced the closure of Cortonwood Colliery in Yorkshire. This was to be the first of 20 pit closures with the loss of 20,000 jobs. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) responded by calling for a national strike.
Twenty years later in 2004, I revisited some of the mining communities that I had originally photographed. This resulted in a touring exhibition called 'Strike84'. The whole experience has been an uplifting one but tinged with sadness. It was good to see old friends again but at the same time, sad to see what has happened to these once proud communities.
Images and editing: Martin Shakeshaft Music: Dave Bowmer
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The closures of the pits and decimation of the coal industry was politically, not economically, motivated. The irony is, in a world of increasingly sarce resources, who would bet against the pits being re-opened in the near future? And by the way, Britain had many flaws in those days, but the economy was actually more productive than it is today. Now we're nothing but a country sinking in debt with an ever widening gap between rich and poor; the net result of thatcherite and New Labour polices.
I worked in the pits for 20 years and was a miner during the 1984/85 strike and stuck it out till we all marched back. We were fighting for our jobs 'villages towns and cities survival and all thatcher wanted was to smash all the unions and us. all the talk about cheaper coal from abroad was bollocks look at the price now of coal gas electric the bastard tories started this mess and the labour party have carried on
The British miners dug their own grave by demanding such high wages( it was cheaper to import). Don't blame Maggie- she wasn't perfect - but destroying greedy mining and print unions was a great acheivement. She was simply the first prime minister strong enough to stand up to them. Greedy unions almost destroyed the U.K. it had to be done. Don't get the wrong idea; thousands of unemployed miners, steel workers and printers was a sad situation, but it was self inflicted.
I was one of the many Met cops who policed the strike and I agree; Maggie was not perfect and she decided enough was enough with the Unions calling the shots.
If Scargill had held a ballot I believe he would have won it, and the strike. It was brinkmanship, and Scargill lost the Mexican stand-off!!!
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We were fighting for our jobs 'villages towns and cities survival and all thatcher wanted was to smash all the unions and us.
all the talk about cheaper coal from abroad was bollocks look at the price now of coal gas electric the bastard tories started this mess and the labour party have carried on
If Scargill had held a ballot I believe he would have won it, and the strike. It was brinkmanship, and Scargill lost the Mexican stand-off!!!