About the author

Ken Smith is a member of the Socialist Party executive committee. He has been involved in socialist politics since the mid-1970s in South Wales and London.

During the 1984-85 miners’ strike he was an organiser for Militant (forerunner of the Socialist Party) in South Wales.

Early on in the strike he was elected the chair of the Llynfi and Afan Valley Miners’ Support Group. The group worked closely alongside St John’s NUM Lodge and other lodges in the two valleys to organise the political and financial support for nearly a thousand miners and their families during the strike.

About the cartoonist

Alan Hardman has been drawing excellent cartoons and illustrations for the Militant, Militant International Review, the Socialist and Socialism Today since the early 1970s. His work has also been used in many labour movement publications internationally.

During the miners’ strike Alan’s work gave tremendous inspiration to all those involved in the struggle. Many of his cartoons were also used by NUM branches and miners’ support group on their leaflets, posters and publications.

To this day the cartoons retain a sharpness in conveying the issues surrounding the strike, bringing it once more to life for those who lived through it and for those discovering it for the first time.

Much of the material broadcast or written to mark the 20th anniversary of the miners’ strike has portrayed their struggle as a brave but tragic attempt to save a dying industry.

No matter how sympathetically the miners, their families and their supporters are portrayed, that view of their battle against Thatcher’s government onslaught does a massive disservice to the momentous struggle they conducted.

It is absolutely vital for the struggles of future generations of trade unionists and socialist militants that a balance sheet of the strike is drawn. Millions of ordinary working-class people, the miners and their families carried out heroic endeavors during the strike. This book shows the miners were right to take the action they did. They could have won a victory which would have raised the sights and confidence of the whole working-class movement.