6 Making miners militant?
-
Sheryl Bernadette Buckley
Abstract
The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was a visible presence across many significant trade unions in the post-war period, largely due to its industrial strategy. The party envisaged that politicising the rank and file of important trade unions and also capturing the leadership of these unions would allow it to influence the Labour Party, as these unions held a significant number of votes at Labour's annual conference. This chapter analyses the success of this strategy in the National Union of Mineworkers, a union that became increasingly emblematic of the difficulties trade unions faced in the late twentieth century, particularly obvious through its 1984 strike. This chapter considers the relationship between Communists in the party and those in the union, exploring the extent to which the party's strategy translated into the union in practice, and understanding if there was any conflict between these two groups who occupied distinctly different roles. Unpicking the concept of 'wage militancy', the way through which the party felt politicisation of the union rank and file would best be achieved, the chapter frames this discussion within the broader context of the increasingly divided CPGB, the political and economic policies of Labour and Conservative governments, and the union's national strikes.
Abstract
The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was a visible presence across many significant trade unions in the post-war period, largely due to its industrial strategy. The party envisaged that politicising the rank and file of important trade unions and also capturing the leadership of these unions would allow it to influence the Labour Party, as these unions held a significant number of votes at Labour's annual conference. This chapter analyses the success of this strategy in the National Union of Mineworkers, a union that became increasingly emblematic of the difficulties trade unions faced in the late twentieth century, particularly obvious through its 1984 strike. This chapter considers the relationship between Communists in the party and those in the union, exploring the extent to which the party's strategy translated into the union in practice, and understanding if there was any conflict between these two groups who occupied distinctly different roles. Unpicking the concept of 'wage militancy', the way through which the party felt politicisation of the union rank and file would best be achieved, the chapter frames this discussion within the broader context of the increasingly divided CPGB, the political and economic policies of Labour and Conservative governments, and the union's national strikes.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Revolutionary vanguard or agent provocateur 11
- 2 Not that serious? 30
- 3 Protest and survive 48
- 4 Anti-apartheid solidarity in the perspectives and practices of the British far left in the 1970s and 1980s 66
- 5 ‘The merits of Brother Worth’ 88
- 6 Making miners militant? 107
- 7 Networks of solidarity 125
- 8 ‘You have to start where you’re at’ 144
- 9 Origins of the present crisis? 163
- 10 A miner cause? 182
- 11 The British radical left and Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ 201
- 12 The point is to change it 218
- 13 The Militant Tendency and entrism in the Labour Party 238
- 14 Understanding the formation of the Communist Party of Britain 258
- Index 277
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Revolutionary vanguard or agent provocateur 11
- 2 Not that serious? 30
- 3 Protest and survive 48
- 4 Anti-apartheid solidarity in the perspectives and practices of the British far left in the 1970s and 1980s 66
- 5 ‘The merits of Brother Worth’ 88
- 6 Making miners militant? 107
- 7 Networks of solidarity 125
- 8 ‘You have to start where you’re at’ 144
- 9 Origins of the present crisis? 163
- 10 A miner cause? 182
- 11 The British radical left and Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ 201
- 12 The point is to change it 218
- 13 The Militant Tendency and entrism in the Labour Party 238
- 14 Understanding the formation of the Communist Party of Britain 258
- Index 277
