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The Coal War (1984)

Was the prospect of closure for collieries across Britain pushing moderate areas towards more militant approaches? First transmitted in 1984.

First transmitted in 1984. The prospect of closure for collieries across Britain is believed to be pushing moderate areas towards more militant approaches. Led by Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers, many believe that participation in the strike is their only hope of securing a future for the mining industry. In the studio, Scargill and Ned Smith of the National Coal Board discuss the issues surrounding this wave of industrial action.

The programme also looks back to the incidents at Saltley during the 1972 miners' strike when, after ten days of picketing, the miners succeeded in forcing the closure of the gates at Saltley coke depot/gas works thanks to support from 40,000 engineering workers who had joined the picket. The strike was seen by many as a pivotal moment in the miners' victory that year.

50 minutes

Last on

Sun 18 Feb 2024 22:30
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Four

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Did You Know?

This programme also looks back to the incidents at Saltley during the 1972 miners' strike when, after ten days of picketing, the miners succeeded in forcing the closure of the gates at Saltley coke depot/gas works thanks to support from 40,000 engineering workers who had joined the picket. The strike was seen by many as a pivotal moment in the miners' victory that year.

Archive

Archive programmes available on iPlayer reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required. In these cases, edits are kept to a minimum and are made only for technical reasons.

Broadcasts

Coal Mining in Britain Collection

This programme is available online as part of the Coal Mining in Britain Collection

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