As new wind, solar and nuclear capacity have displaced coal generation, China has been able to drastically lower its CO2 emissions even as demand for power has increased — the world must take note and get ready to follow, writes NICK MATTHEWS
Latest editorial
35 years since the NUM returned to work
Today ex-miners, families and supporters gather to commemorate the deaths of two Yorkshire miners killed in the 1984-85 strike against pit closures, writes CHRIS KITCHEN, national secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers
Voters are clearly increasingly fed up with the SNP, but Labour can’t just assume that they will reap the benefit – especially with an ascendant Reform UK waiting in the wings, says STEPHEN LOW
Let’s mobilise against the cuts and for a clear alternative economic strategy, writes MATT WILLGRESS
The British economy is failing to deliver for ordinary people. With the upcoming Spending Review, Labour has the opportunity to chart a different course – but will it do so, asks JON TRICKETT MP
MATT KERR reflects on the unveiling of Mick McGahey’s bust in Holyrood, where the former NUM president who demanded a workers’ parliament with ‘internationalist horizons’ now watches over a parliament where Reform UK are advancing rapidly
Editor BEN CHACKO explains why next weekend’s Morning Star conference is not to be missed
Labour’s austerity package, targeted at disabled people and the most vulnerable in our society, stands to drive over 150,000 children into poverty and millions of adults deeper into hardship, warns Dr DYLAN MURPHY
IT’S difficult to believe that this year marks 35 years since those who stayed loyal to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) returned to work with their heads held high.
Twelve months on strike fighting not only the proposed job losses from the pit-closure programme that the National Coal Board and Tory government intended to push through, but the devastating consequences that would affect the communities we lived in and future employment prospects for our children.
Following the strike of 1984-85, the National Coal Board and the then Tory government pushed ahead with their pit-closure programme, and the devastation to our communites that we feared became a reality.
Despite efforts to regenerate some of the former coal-mining areas, which has had mixed success in some areas, they remain among the most deprived in the country.
You cannot replace the decent well-paid jobs that were lost when the pits closed with housing and industrial estates which provide temporary, insecure and low-paid jobs at best.
Many former mining areas have been left behind following the closure of the pit and having lost what was for many the biggest employer, they have also lost the sports and welfare facilities that the pit and its miners supported.
The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign continues to pursue a full public enquiry into what happened at Orgreave on June 18, 1984.
The refusal by successive Tory governments to hold an enquiry of any type is evidence that they have something to hide.
Given we now have a Tory government for the next five years, it is more important than ever to keep up the pressure and support the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign.
At the annual David Jones — Joe Green memorial we pay our respects to two of our own who lost their lives on the picket lines in 1984-85.
Their sacrifice should never be forgotten and the NUM will continue to hold this memorial for as long as it is able to do so.
By remembering our past we can avoid repeating the mistakes and forge a better future for the next generation — “the past we inherit, the future we build.”
As a socialist and Labour Party member I was devastated by the result of the 2019 general election as many people were. As a party we need to look at why we suffered such a devastating defeat.
Once we have elected our new leader, we need to work together to rebuild the trust that we have lost in our heartlands and the wider electorate.
Sidebar.
David Gareth Jones, 24, from Wakefield, died outside Ollerton colliery in Nottinghamshire on March 15,1984.
He was hit by a missile.
On June 15 Joe Green, 55, was crushed to death by a scab lorry while picketing Ferrybridge power station in West Yorkshire.
NUM national secretary Chris Kitchen was an 18-year-old miner at Kellingley colliery in Yorkshire during the 1984-85 strike against pit closures.
He was the pit’s union branch secretary before being elected national secretary in 2007.
Kellingley was the last deep coal mine in the UK to close. It was shut down on December 18, 2015, marking the end of an industrial era.
More from this author
CHRIS KITCHEN, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, reminds us that the defining industrial battle of the last century isn’t over until there is full justice for Orgreave's victims — and for miners’ pensions
As well as our industrial strength, we need to build up reserves of class pride — and events like this festival are key, writes general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers CHRIS KITCHEN
General secretary of the NUM CHRIS KITCHEN argues that while Britain is still importing and burning coal from abroad, reopening mines and using our own reserves actually reduces the amount of carbon emissions
Can coal be part of the solution to tackling climate change, asks CHRIS KITCHEN, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers
