OK chaps, go and read this;
It contains such gems as;
Tower had reopened in defiance of the large-scale pit closure programme ordered by the Thatcher government following the year-long miners’ strike of 1984-5 - a strike in opposition to colliery shutdowns.
and….
Deputy first minister Ieaun Wyn Jones said the colliery had been “an inspiration”.
He added: “It is an icon of Welsh resistance ¿ the abiding history of a mining community which fought against all the odds and scored notable success.”
OK, so we are clear what happened here, yes? Plucky miners stand up to evil capitalist Thatcher to keep mine open. Hurrah. Bravo.
Except, that isn’t quite how it happened, is it? Have a read of this…..
‘One of the pits they decided to close was Tower Colliery in South Wales. I was suspicious of the Coal Board’s view. Experience had taught me that they were not great managers of our national resource. They had a glittering legacy of losses, subsidy demands, closures, redundancies and poor employee relations to their credit. Their safety, productivity, profitability and social records were far from perfect. I was not inclined to believe them that so many pits had suddenly become uneconomic. Looking at their accounts, the high overheads they imposed on their mines was a striking feature.
I was therefore delighted when I was told by my private office that miners representatives from Tower Colliery wished to come to see me to put the case for keeping open the mine. I was even more delighted to learn that they believed their case so strongly that they were prepared to take the pit over and mine it themselves, if the Coal Board would give them the chance. The bad news was the Coal Board refused consent, and the Energy Ministry backed the Coal Board’s judgement.
When the miners arrived in my office, I think they were surprised by my enthusiasm for their cause, and by my explanation that their task was not to persuade me, but to work with me on our joint case to the Energy department and Coal Board to give them the opportunity to run the mine. As it meant being allowed to prove the Coal Board wrong it was not going to be easy, but I felt that between us we could do it. ‘
Subtly different, as is the BBC / Nu Labour alliance way. Don’t actually lie, just tweak the presentation of the facts to suit your own agenda.
Filed under: BBC / Nu Labour alliance
I worked for the NCB during the late `70s to early `80s. It was a running joke amongst miners that - “the sure way to know when a pit was going to be closed is when they tarmac the car park” -thus ensuring a loss for that financial year
Ah BBC bias. Well known in Jerusalem and NW London.
If you don’t mind, Harry, I’ll pass up the invitation in your title.