Absolutely stunned when I read this in the paper today and have since checked it out and it is indeed true:
Under Harold Wilson (Labour), Number of Mines Closed:290
Under Margaret Thatcher (Conservative), Number of Mines Closed:160
Discuss?
You have to consider how many new pits were opened under each PM for a fuller picture and how many compulsory redundancies.
Absolutely stunned when I read this in the paper today and have since checked it out and it is indeed true:
Under Harold Wilson (Labour), Number of Mines Closed:290
Under Margaret Thatcher (Conservative), Number of Mines Closed:160
Discuss?
Ultimately, the person who brought the mining industry to its knees was Arthur Scargill. You can blame Thatcher as much as you like but his action in dividing the union and splitting the support was fatal.
Ego-centric and power crazy, he was his own worst enemy.
True story this:
My father was a coal merchant in the early eighties and the miners strike nearly took his company under. He made inquiries when there was NO coal left to buy or sell to Germany and guess what? They found they could import superior quality coal from the continent for half the price including transportation.
Hate her as much as you like, the miners shot themselves in the foot.
Ultimately, the person who brought the mining industry to its knees was Arthur Scargill. You can blame Thatcher as much as you like but his action in dividing the union and splitting the support was fatal.
Ego-centric and power crazy, he was his own worst enemy.
This.
In the early 1980's I worked in an office with a lady in her mid 60's and at the time there was footage of 'King Arthur' addressing a conference in an animated fashion, she said then it was the closest thing to Hitler at Nuremburg that she'd ever seen.
WE ALL, either left, right or middle of the road should be eternally grateful for Thatcher for stopping Scargill, because had he won their conflict I dread to think what state this country would be in today.
Needs a breakdown of the figures. How many pits closed because the coal seams were exhausted or had flooding/geological problems ?
My father was a coal merchant in the early eighties and the miners strike nearly took his company under. He made inquiries when there was NO coal left to buy or sell to Germany and guess what? They found they could import superior quality coal from the continent for half the price including transportation.
Arr yes, Arthur Scargill, the man who lived in a small house and got the job of running a big Union. By the time he had finished he was running a small Union but lived in a big house.
And he still wants the union to pay for his flat in the Barbican (£34k a year) and he wants them to pay for it for his widow after he's gone. His greed and selfishness is beyond compare. Oh, and he's a supporter of Stalin. Nice.Apparently though it is only the Tories who are motivated by self interest and are incompetent.