Jim Phillips and Ewan Gibbs of the School of Social and Political Sciences will discuss Jim’s research on the 1984-85 miners’ strike in Scotland, and how this helped bring about the Scottish Parliament’s Miners’ Strike (Pardons) Act of 2022. 

Jim’s book is based on oral history interviews with 37 veteran strikers and their family members. The strike represents the ultimate unjust transition. Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government pursued its strategy of pit closures, privatisation and anti-trade unionism covertly, with no attempt to offset the damaging consequences in mining communities. Strike veterans explain how they resisted this forced rupture to their lives, and the many injustices which they encountered in doing so. 

The difficult economic and social history of the coalfields after the strike was a further major injustice but there was a positive legacy. Veterans found employment in public service: in transport, education, health and social care. They helped mining communities in Scotland to remain resilient and cohesive, with a continued faith in the value of collective organisation and action.  

The Pardons Act was vindication of this faith. The book provides an insider account of how the campaign for restorative justice secured this achievement and will continue in pursuit of the still unrealised goal of financial compensation. 

Coalfield Justice. The 1984-85 Miners’ Strike in Scotland is published by Edinburgh University Press and available for purchase here. Copies will be available for purchase at the event. 

For future GLEW events, sign up for the mailing list: https://lists.cent.gla.ac.uk/sympa/info/glew.  

Co-organisers: Glasgow Labour, Employment and Work (GLEW) Group and the School of Social and Political Sciences 

First published: 31 December 2024

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