Preferable to Starmer he may be, but there is scant sign of a sharp political break in Burnham’s policies so far — while left challenges aren’t making much of a running either, finds ANDREW MURRAY. How can socialism be put back on the map?
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.
The public inquiry is the result of more than a decade of determined campaigning. Now, those who fought for justice want the full story of government involvement and police conduct to be told, says KATE FLANNERY
A past confrontation permanently shaped the methods the state will use to protect employers against any claims by their employees, writes MATT WRACK, but unions are readying to face the challenge



