HW: Bob Calvert: Freq and Live at the QEH

[M Holmes]

Chris Bates writes:

> The miners strike of 1984-85 was the final death throws of labour
> in its fight against capital in the UK. Capital won because the
> labour and trade union movement as a whole was ground down by repressive
> legislation and the fear of unemployment.

Nah. The Conservatives won because they'd *planned* for it. Thatcher
always resented being in the Heath Cabinet which eventually lost to the
miners in 1974 and ensured that stocks of coal were high before goading
Scargill into taking the miners on strike *after* winter.

> I haven't got the album
> and haven't heard it for years but I'd guess that the *NUM guy*
> is Arthur Scargill,

Indeed it is.

> the bete noir of the capitalist press, who
> was undeniably RIGHT :-(

He was right about the plans to run down and privatise mines. However
his tactics for fighting that were abysmal.
>
> Up the workers :-)

Some of whom used their redundancy money to buy and run (at a
substantial profit) a mine which was to be closed.

> Chris

FoFP