Miner's Strike 1984-85

By the late 1970s, a new industrial depression had started in South Wales. Although the increase in the oil process in the mid-1970s made the future of coal look secure, and showed that coal was still an important part of the nation's energy needs, more pits began to be closed as did the factories that had brought employment to the valleys in the 1970s. This caused a rise in unemployment. People became increasingly concerned not only with the loss of jobs, but also the effect that the unemployment would have on the mining communities as a whole. This problem was not confined to South Wales however; it was nationwide problem. Margaret Thatcher was trying to diminish the power of the unions and in 1984 the National Coal Board declared it wished to close 20 pits with the loss of 20,000 jobs, claiming that the deal made after the 1974 Miners' Strike was no longer valid. On the 12th March 1984, Arthur Scargill, President of the NUM, called a national strike against the pit closures. Many miners were involved in picketing and protesting including miners from 28 pits in the South Wales Coalfield. The strike was however technically illegal as Arthur Scargill had not held a ballot of NUM members. The failure to call a ballot led to the confiscation of NUM funds and enabled the police to intervene to allow a handful of strike-breakers to go into work. This led to picket line violence, particularly in South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.