Invisible or just underrated? Thoughts on anarchist solidarity with the Miners’ Strike of 1984-85

2024 is the 40th anniversary of the start of the Miners Strike of 1984-85. ‘The vast majority of miners were not fighting to overthrow the government or state or seek to create a revolution, but simply to keep jobs to keep their communities intact. They were not even fighting to take over their industry – theirs by right. True, there were some, both within and outside the mining communities, who were fighting for more. But it was not a political strike of the miners’ choosing, but as a direct result of government, that made it clear from the outset that their objectives were to smash the union, to defeat militant unionism and break up the communities.’[1]

I have been reading and thinking about the strike and anarchist solidarity actions with the miners. That anarchist solidarity seems less visible now. Diarmaid Kelliher says ‘It is necessary to be careful about using the support movement as a way of gleaning positives out of this history.’[2] That’s a valid warning against cherry picking stories ‘as compensation for a miserable present’.[3] But do we have to resign ourselves to being written out of history?

In one mention of anarchist involvement Kelliher says ‘There is evidence of some limited anarcho-syndicalist influence, for example in contacts developed between Doncaster miners and Barcelona dockers, but more broadly this is probably wishful thinking.’[4] I find that ‘probably’ quite strange. My initial impression is that it’s something he doesn’t have time to check (in writing history, there are often loose ends). But I can’t help also hearing ‘if the anarcho-syndicalists were important, there would be a book about them’.

In 2005 Ben Franks wrote an article about ‘British Anarchisms and the Miners’ Strike’ which focussed on the effect of the strike on the anarchist movement (which is not what I’m talking about here). While noting that some groups actively supported the miners he claimed ‘Although the miners’ strike had a marked influence on libertarian movements, anarchist involvement had little overall impact on the direction of the dispute.’[5] 

Franks examined the poster for ‘The Miners’ Strike Twenty Years On: Challenges and Changes’ conference at Northumbria University (2004) to suggest ‘alongside the miners, their partners and families, the dominant political players were unconnected with anarchism’, and looked at the books that Socialist Workers Party members, academics and the like had written since the strike: they ‘make no mention of anything that could be labelled “anarchist involvement”.’[6] It’s obviously possible to write about the miners strike and not mention anarchists. I’m not convinced that means that anarchist solidarity was entirely absent (or unimportant). 

In 2009 Franks claimed that ‘By the time of the Miners’ Strike in 1984, anarchism had minimal influence on – and in – working-class structures of resistance.’[7] Yet some anarchists were actively attempting to maintain and build ‘working-class structures of resistance’, like the Burnley Congress for Industrial Action (January 1985).[8]

In the anarchist press the strike caused debate and exposed wildly differing attitudes to what anarchism is or anarchists should do. Again, those debates aren’t what I want to talk about. The anarchist press reported some of the anarchist solidarity actions with the miners. Here are just a few examples. 

In Glasgow, anarchists occupied the offices of Price Waterhouse.[9] In their leaflet for the action the occupiers said ‘The unemployed know only too well the hardship the Miners and their families must be facing after six months on strike. We can’t give much money from our own pockets. We can’t go on strike. BUT WE CAN DEMONSTRATE OUR ACTIVE SOLIDARITY.’[10]

In Bedford, a ‘Coal not Dole’ banner was hoisted as part of an anarchist ‘day of action’ (where nuclear waste, meat eating and the Conservative Party were the other targets).[11] 

Freedom Press hosted miners from Blyth’s Bates Pit NUM, thinking they had found them by their own initiative. ‘Actually, the miners in question […] were told locally, once they decided to head to London to raise much needed funds and asking where was a good place to begin/ stay, try asking Freedom, they should know.’[12] 

The Direct Action Movement used its international contacts for fundraising and to arrange meetings. Hull DAM reported passing on £10,000 from the Dutch syndicalist union the OVB, and ‘£400, with more coming in’ from the French CNT, plus a speaking tour.[13] DAM contacts were also used to get Doncaster strikers to speak in Spain,[14] and a Spanish CNT member to speak in South Wales.[15] 

Some London anarchists attempted to ‘open a second front’. ‘We have argued in the last two issues of Class War that the best support we can give to the miners is to open up a second front by rioting in the inner cities. There is no prospect of any other organised section of the working class taking industrial action in solidarity with the miners – so the sooner we get out on to the streets with our bricks and bottles the sooner they’ll have to withdraw police from the mining areas.’[16] There was a day of action on the 5 November 1984 (Bonfire Night) ‘Possibly not to great effect, but it was an effort.’ [17]

But most frequently, anarchists seem to have acted within the generalised solidarity movement and not limited themselves to explicitly anarchist actions. A mass of fundraising, food collecting and picketing kept the strike going as long as it did. Anarchists were involved in all of these as well as other forms of support like printing, babysitting and cooking breakfasts (a way of supporting both the miners and the women’s action groups from the mining communities).

Dave Douglass said at the time ‘It will come as a surprise to many but the Anarchists have in fact been far more helpful than many of the self-proclaimed saviours of the working class. Since they are against people telling other people what to do, they have in fact spent what time and energy they have actually helping us in the ways we asked to be helped. Printing is often their strong point and they have often done this for free; they have also helped in food collections, etc and when WE have asked they have shown up on picket lines, without the newspapers the others on the left usually carry.’[18]

I think the anarchist disinterest in recruiting and self-promotion (certainly compared to the ‘revolutionary parties’ of the left), coupled with their involvement with the grassroots action partly explains why their actions are now less visible. ‘The strategy, if we could give it so grand a title, that many anarchists adopted was to support the miners. Consequently much of that support work relied on having conversations with miners and their families and working out how we could help them. That help was very rarely trumpeted, just done. Maybe printing leaflets and posters, helping with food provision, sitting on picket lines to give some a break, organising speaking events for miners both here and overseas. Sometimes just listening and occasionally trying to answer questions about what we felt was going on “out there”. Consequently for the historians there is not a lot of hard material they can use.’[19]

After the strike many active anarchists moved on to other campaigns (like the Wapping dispute). Those most heavily involved in strike support must have been most affected by the ‘depression [that] seems to have engulfed our movement’.[20] At least one attempt was made at the time to gather accounts of anarchist solidarity ‘A comrade in the North-East is hoping to put together a record of the current Miners Strike as witnessed by anarchists who have been involved either directly or by providing physical support.’[21] But that seems to have come to nothing.

So, have you read any good accounts of anarchist solidarity with the miners? Would you like to write your account or notes on what was done in your area? I know someone is doing interviews with people who were involved on anarchist solidarity with miners. Would you like us to put you in touch? 

Notes

1, ‘Was the Miners Strike winnable?’ in Black Flag Supplement no.2 Miners Strike in Black Flag : the anarchist fortnightly No.139 9/9/1985 https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/rr50mw 

2, Kelliher, Diarmaid ‘Networks of solidarity: the London left and the 1984-5 miners’ strike’. In: Smith, E. and Worley, M. (eds.) Waiting for the Revolution: the British Far Left from 1956. Manchester University Press (2017) pp. 125-143. [on p137] ISBN 9781526113658. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv18b5jz6.12 Manuscript free at http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/155166/ 

3, Warren, Richard ‘The misadventures of Ann and Archie [on the uses of history]’ in Cienfuegos Press Anarchist Review, #5 [1980], p55. https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/jm65bt

4, Kelliher ‘Networks of solidarity’ p133, quoting ‘Barcelona Dockers’, Rank and File Miner, June 1985, p. 5.

5, Franks, Ben ‘British Anarchisms and the Miners’ Strike’ Capital & Class 29, 3 2005 https://doi.org/10.1177/030981680508700113

6, Franks ‘British Anarchisms’ p.233

7, Franks, Ben ‘Anarchism, Britain’ in International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500 to the Present, edited by Immanuel Ness, 108–110. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0045 and https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/benjamin-franks-anarchism-in-britain

8, See reports from Direct Action https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/n5td3n, Black Flag https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/44j2k8 and Freedom https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/08kr9w

9, See Brian Biggins ‘The day we took the white tower [Price Waterhouse occupation, Glasgow, 1984]’ https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/4xgzxz which was also published in Black Flag 119, 15/10/1984

10, the leaflet, from Glasgow’s Spirit of Revolt collection is available at https://archive.org/details/minersstrike/ and https://libcom.org/article/day-we-took-white-tower-brian-biggins

11, See ‘Letter [Bedford Anarchist Collective Day of Action, December 1984]’ From Black Flag : Anarchist Fortnightly Vol. VII, No.125 28/01/1985 https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/vt4dh5

12, Tyneside Anarchist Archive, Anarchism in North East England 1882-1992 p302

13, ‘Dutch, French Unions Support NUM’ from Direct Action 18, (September 1984) https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/3bk54x

14, See ‘NUM in Spain’ from Direct Action 18, (September 1984) https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/k98vfq

15, See ‘Miners Update: Ammanford South Wales’ From Black Flag: Anarchist Fortnightly vol VII, 6E, no.116 6/8/84 https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/xksq8r

16, ‘Kinnochio speaks and his nose starts to grow’ Class War 12 (1984) https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/mw6pbh

17, ‘Talking to Dave Morris about the Miners Strike, Wapping and Poland : A transcript of a conversation [April 2024]’ https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/tdz2g7. The leaflet calling for the day of action is at https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/vx0ndd. The ‘Open up the second front’ article appeared in Class War 11 https://libcom.org/article/class-war-11-1984.

18, Douglass, David ‘Bores under the floor [a view of Anarchists in the Miners’ Strike]’ From: Black Flag no 117 (v.7, n.6F) 20/8/1984. https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/w0vvn6

19, Barry Pateman, email of 14/7/2024

20, Ridley, Pete ‘London, England’ [Letter about anarchist actions in support of the miners strike] SRAF Bulletin 91 (Nov.-Dec 1985) https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/sn050s

21, ‘Strike History [1984 call for information on anarchist solidarity with the miners strike]’ From Black Flag vol 07 7d #122 (27/11/1984) https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/6hdsx9

[See elsewhere in this issue for more articles on the strike; other pieces were reprinted in KSL Bulletin 91-92 (October 2017). Those and more are at https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/93207x ]