Remember importance of solidarity and loyalty
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the miners' strike, arguably one of the most significant events in the history of modern Britain. I am proud to represent a constituency whose history is particularly marked by the mining industry and so was tdeeply affected by the strikes and pit closures.
Earlier this month, I took part in a march to commemorate the strike, which took place in South Kirkby. There was an impressive turnout and a large and enthusiastic crowd who came out to support us. Locals leaned out of their windows and gave us the thumbs-up and as we marched past the working men's club, a crowd of customers came out to applaud us and the memory of what we were marching for.
Though 25 years on it is still very much in the hearts and minds of everyone who was involved in the strike. Yes, our lives and our economy have moved on but I would argue we should never forget what happened in those dark days of the 1980s.
As we marched past the club a familiar chant broke out and quickly spread through the crowd. It was one that referred specifically to the woman who many hold directly responsible for the miners' plight: 'Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, Out, Out, Out!' It was a poignant demonstration of the fact that whole families and villages will never forget, or indeed forgive, the people who engineered the closure of the pits or for the callous manner in which they brutalised local economies.
The closure of the pits was not only an assault on people's jobs but on a way of life. Entire communities thrived on the mining industry; they were completely centred on it and without it, there was nothing.
Today, Britain is the world's fifth largest economy but where did this wealth come from? The Labour Party constitution used to talk about 'workers by hand and by brain' and it is certain that our wealth was created by the skills and enterprise of the ordinary people of our country. When we think, we know that the wealth of our country owes much to manual labour.
It was this same manual dexterity which built the houses, the factories, the schools, bridges and roads. But it was the miners who delivered the fuel and the power to make the economy great. Of course, our economy nowadays is increasingly built on what is called the knowledge industries and this is why the government places so much emphasis on education and training. In doing this, though, we should not downplay the role that working people have played and will continue to play in our country.
But as we marched, not only did we remember the decline of mining (and perhaps of manual labour more generally) with regret, we equally celebrated the enduring spirit of the miners and the communities that were built around them.
A spirit that was unbroken, despite the insufferably tough times that confronted them. We remembered with pride the Yorkshire miners who brought the fight to those in power without a moment's hesitation, not just for themselves, but for their fellow workers and for the trade union movement as a whole.
We remembered the communities that rallied together, the families that looked out and cared for each other, often at their own expense, in direct contrast to the war that was being raged on them from above. The pit communities that closed ranks, setting up soup kitchens and food parcel runs to feed strikers and their families and the help that was offered from sometimes surprising places.
Arthur Scargill, the then leader of the NUM, is a controversial figure but his insistence that this was 'the most courageous and determined stand by trade unionists anywhere in the world, arguing for the right to work', remains true to this day. It is easy to romanticise history-defining conflicts such as this, but it is just as important that we continue to celebrate and recognise the work that such people do.
We must acknowledge such long under-valued contribution of manual labour as vital to our society and economy and remember the importance of solidarity and loyalty, especially in such tough economic times as we face today.
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Weather for Wakefield
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
