Twenty-five years ago on March 5, 1984 the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) embarked upon the most important class struggle in
Britain since the general strike of 1926. A ferocious battle ensued.
Billions of pounds were spent by the ruling class to crush the miners’
militancy. More than ten thousand miners were arrested; two were killed
on the picket lines and countless others injured. Decades of so-called
consensus were obliterated and the real and ugly face of British
capitalism was exposed for all to see. [Originally published as "Twenty
years on – the lessons of the 1984-85 miners' strike" on March 5, 2004,
on the 20th anniversary].
[NOTE: Sadly, since this article was written five years ago comrade Phil died. As a youth and son of a miner, having joined the then Militant Tendency, he actively participated in the solidarity actions with the miners. Republication of this article is also a tribute to Phil and the work he did in defending the genuine ideas of Marxism and building the forces of the Socialist Appeal in Britain and of the IMT internationally].
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