Originally Posted by
KerrAvon
I'm not sure that it is possible to determine who was wrong and who was right in the way that you are trying to.
For the reasons that I have explained, I think the strike was possibly ill conceived, but certainly disastrously executed and handled in a way about as from TU principles as it was possible to be. More importantly for the purposes of this thread, it changed everything.
Any notion of unity had been thrown away when working miners found that their voices counted for nothing within the NUM and, worse still, they found themselves the victims of intimidation that was organised by the very union that was supposed to protect and support them. It was hardly surprising that the UDM was formed and with the miners split in that fashion, the government had a free hand to do what it wished.
The strike had also damaged the market for British Coal as customers established alternative supplies. The attempt by the NUM to, once again, turn out the lights also provided the government to look at how electricity was generated and I think it no coincidence that the 'dash for gas' quickly followed.
In other words, I think the strike hastened the end for the mining industry and took away any possibility of the unions being able to influence what followed.
I don't think that makes Scargill right.
I have never suggested that you struck for money or failed to move on.