Miners’ Strike Debate.

On the 3rd March to a full capacity, the Forum Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent played host to a Question Time debate on the legacy of the Miner’s Strike entitled The ‘Big A’ Debate. Several members of Stoke Socialist Party and Keele Socialist Students were in attendance and we had a successful stall outside the theatre prior to the start of the debate on the repealing of the anti-trade union laws.

         

The panelists on the debate consisted of Edwina Currie, George Galloway, Ken Loach, UKIP MEP Mike Nattrass and Guardian journalist David Hencke (whom Galloway later described as a ‘pseudo-left revisionist’.)

Throughout the discussions a large part of the audience were vociferous in their opinions and consisted of a number of ex-miners, some of whom had travelled from as far afield as Manchester and Nottingham to make their feelings known. Film director Loach was very articulate in his points and spoke at length about the attacks made by the Tories on Trade Unions, and how the laws of which have not been repealed by Conservatives or New Labour in the intervening years.

Of course both Loach and Galloway were far more convincing in their arguments than Edwina Currie, whose main argument seemed to simply consist of blaming Labour for the decimation of industry in North Staffordshire, despite the Thatcherite government destroying both the mining and Pottery industies. She even suggested that had the mining industry survived intact, the youth of today would not want to work in them, even with millions unemployed!

The overall feeling of the evening that seemed to resonate was the sense of a lack of representation of the working-class 25 years on, and the vitriol expressed by several members of the audience only served to strengthen the need for a new workers’ party, and the Trade Union & Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is certainly a step in that direction. 

Many at the meeting were angry about the use of anti-trade union laws during the miners strike. Unfortunately, Labour MP for the area Mark Fisher was not on the panel to explain why the New Labour government had failed to repeal these draconian laws. 

Fortunately, TUSC which stands clearly for the repeal of the anti-trade union laws, will be fielding a General Election candidate in Stoke-on-Trent to give a voice to ordinary working class people who want to challenge the slash & burn ploicies of the three main parties and the divisive poison of the BNP.

What are the lessons we can learn from the heroic fight of the miners for workers’ struggle today?

“A CIVIL WAR WITHOUT GUNS”

written by Socialist Party member Ken Smith who was an activist during the miners strike in South Wales.

Click on cover picture below for more details