Blog

Rebuilding the Bonds

The miners' strike was sustained by a broad coalition that coalesced entire communities. Forty years on, we must rebuild the bonds of solidarity, learn the lessons of defeat and reilluminate the possibilities that went dark as the pit entrances swung back open.

The Coalfield and the City

Despite being considered divorced from the coalfield communities in every imaginable way, the wave of enthusiasm shown for the miners’ struggle by London’s diverse workforces and communities proved to be a decisive form of support.

Workers of the World United

To advance the miners’ fight in Britain, some 6,000 Australian miners sacrificed their own jobs. Their heroic stance was one of many international actions in defence of British mining communities.

Easington Under Siege

The County Durham pit village of Easington spent the strike year as a miniature police state as officers flocked in to enforce Thatcher’s assault. Four decades on, the scars run deep.

Walking Away from Workers

The period of defeat following the miners’ strike has been marked by an ideological retreat from class across the labour movement. Our task is to put the agency of working people at the centre of socialist politics.