Justice Denied

by David Allsop (Editor), Carol Stephenson (Editor), David Wray (Editor)

Overview

What were the issues at stake in the great miners' strike of 1984-85? This book challenges images, looks at the impact of the strike on participants, and reflects on ongoing controversies and community pride. It is organised into three parts. In early chapters participants look back. Political controversies are examined: Was the strike the result of careful planning (on the part of the Thatcher government, and/or the National Union of Mineworkers)? Why were miners determined not to be 'balloted out of their jobs'? Why did miners in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and elsewhere support, or oppose, the strike? How did the BBC and ITV misrepresent police action and show miners as 'out of control'? This is an especially timely book written by former miners and radical academic research activists the majority of whom were participants during the 1984-85 miners' strike in Britain. It is particularly welcome today as calls intensify for a public enquiry into the policing of picketing at Orgreave.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780850367300
Publisher:	Merlin Press Limited, The
Publication date:	07/01/2024
Edition description:	None ed.
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

David Allsop is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire. Carol Stephenson is a Principle Lecturer in Sociology at Northumbria University. David Wray is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire.

Table of Contents

Contributors vi

Abbreviations vii

Timeline of Events viii

Introduction Carol Stephenson 1

Part 1 The People

Chapter 1 A young miner's view of the strike: 30 years on Ian Lavery 13

Chapter 2 I am woman, I am strong! Barbara Jackson 24

Chapter 3 From the picket line to the Palace of Westminster Siân James 38

Chapter 4 I never went back Peter Smith 54

Chapter 5 Voices from the strike Esther Johnson Debbie Baltin 64

Part 2 The Controversies

Chapter 6 We shall not be constitutionalised out of a defence of our jobs David Allsop David Wray 79

Chapter 7 An open and shut case? Reappraising 'conspiracy' and 'cock-up' theories of the strike David Waddington 97

Chapter 8 'Iron hand': Representations and ramifications of the 'Battle of Orgreave' David Waddington 118

Chapter 9 The minority report: Being on strike in Nottinghamshire David Allsop Eric Eaton Keith Stanley 134

Part 3 Ongoing Issues

Chapter 10 Orgreave: the battle for truth and justice Granville Williams 155

Chapter 11 Solidarity forever or the end of an era? Unions and the strike John Stirling 168

Chapter 12 The Gala that would not die: Memory and heritage in the post-industrial mining communities of County Durham Carol Stephenson David Wray 181

Appendix NUM Rules 194

Further information 196

Index 197

Editorial Reviews

"This is an especially timely book written by former miners and radical academic research activists the majority of whom were participants during the 1984-85 miners' strike in Britain. It is particularly welcome today as calls intensify for a public enquiry into the policing of picketing at Orgreave. Not only is it a marvellous account of the bravery of the men and women and their allies during one of the longest industrial strikes in British history, it is also testimony to the resilience of mining communities in the face of state repression." —Professor Paul Stewart, University of Strathclyde


"... to assemble a collection such as this one more than thirty years after the strike ended is itself a remarkable feat, as is the artful combination of personal narrative with scholarly contextualization." —Labour History Review

From the Publisher