Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Miners’ vs Thatcher: Battle That Changed Britain
Published 2 weeks, 6 days ago
Description
On this day, 5 March 1984, the great UK miners’ strike began when miners at Cortonwood colliery walked out in response to the Conservative government’s announcement of a pit closure plan. Some other pits were already on strike in other disputes, but the strikes against closures spread across Yorkshire, and four days later the National Union of Mineworkers called a national strike, which was joined by a majority of miners around the country.
Women, many of them miners’ wives, played a crucial role in supporting the strike, helping the workers to remain out for nearly a year.
Prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her government were determined to break the power of workers’ organisations and push through mass privatisation and free market reforms. They had learned from their previous defeats in miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974. They built up coal stocks, so they could withstand a long strike, and then deliberately provoked the strike by announcing the closure plan in spring when coal was in less demand than during the cold winter months.
The defeat of the miners, who had been the most well-organised and most militant group of workers in Britain, marked a decisive turning point in the balance of power between workers and employers in the country. It eventually led to the much more atomised and individualised nature of the working class in Britain today.
Learn more in our podcast series about the dispute. Episode 13 is about women in the strike, episodes 27-29 are about LGBT+ people during the strike, and episode 81 is about the miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974. Episodes about the strike itself are coming soon: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/1984-5-miners-strike/
Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
Women, many of them miners’ wives, played a crucial role in supporting the strike, helping the workers to remain out for nearly a year.
Prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her government were determined to break the power of workers’ organisations and push through mass privatisation and free market reforms. They had learned from their previous defeats in miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974. They built up coal stocks, so they could withstand a long strike, and then deliberately provoked the strike by announcing the closure plan in spring when coal was in less demand than during the cold winter months.
The defeat of the miners, who had been the most well-organised and most militant group of workers in Britain, marked a decisive turning point in the balance of power between workers and employers in the country. It eventually led to the much more atomised and individualised nature of the working class in Britain today.
Learn more in our podcast series about the dispute. Episode 13 is about women in the strike, episodes 27-29 are about LGBT+ people during the strike, and episode 81 is about the miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974. Episodes about the strike itself are coming soon: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/1984-5-miners-strike/
Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
- See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
- Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
- Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
- Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
- If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History