British miners remember 1984 strike

This is a music video from Britain by Elvis Costello: Margaret Thatcher – tramp the dirt down. Interview and solo performance, British TV, 1989.

This item is from British daily The Morning Star (the whole contents of which are freely aviailable on the Internet since the new year started):

Miners announce events to mark strike anniversary

(Sunday 04 January 2009)

by ALAN JONES

THE National Union of Mineworkers revealed plans on Sunday for a host of events planned throughout the year to mark the 25th anniversary of the year-long miners’ strike.

Concerts, books, a special one-day conference and a play which starts with the death of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher are among the events planned, said NUM president Ian Lavery.

The union is staging a one-day event in Blackpool on March 21 which will be addressed by British and international speakers, including former NUM leader Arthur Scargill, who led the strike.

Mr Lavery said that it will be a “momentous” occasion to mark such a historic anniversary, adding: “Twenty-five years on from the greatest industrial dispute ever, we haven’t made much progress in terms of trade union legislation in this country.

“We will remember the heroic struggle, which wasn’t about pay or conditions but about keeping mines open to produce coal for the good of our nation.

“The UK still produces 50 per cent of its electricity from coal, yet we are importing 43 million tonnes of coal, equivalent to keeping 43 pits open,” he added.

“Our arguments are just as relevant today as they were at the time of the strike.”

The bitter conflict started in March 1984 and became one of the greatest trade union struggles since the 1926 General Strike, pitting the mighty NUM against the Tory Thatcher government.

The union-sponsored Maggie’s End play, which starts with the death of Margaret Thatcher, will open at the Shaw Theatre in London in April.

Co-author Trevor Wood said: “Maggie’s End is really about the legacy of Thatcherism and examines how far the new Labour government has travelled from its traditional roots.”