Object 5 – Scargill and Thatcher
These items relate to two of the biggest personalities of the 1984-85 miners’ strike: Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Scargill. Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the UK from 1979-1990. She believed that trade unions were harmful and undemocratic, and wanted to reduce their power. She was also a strong believer in privatisation, and wanted to privatise the coalmining industry and close pits that were unprofitable
Arthur Scargill, born near Barnsley, was the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982-2002. He believed that the government wanted to destroy the coal industry, so when the government announced the closure of 20 pits on March 6th, 1984 he called for miners to strike in protest. This was controversial, as he refused to hold an official ballet on the issue.
Thatcher and Scargill were both divisive figures; many saw Thatcher as an enemy of working class people (the postcard, produced by the NUM, is not flattering) and hailed Scargill as a hero. However, other people believed that Thatcher was simply doing what had to be done, as the mines were becoming increasingly unprofitable. They thought that Scargill was stubbornly trying to prevent the inevitable, whilst causing damage and social unrest.