The Strike that Changed Britain!

In 1984, I was back in the UK all summer, playing the amateur golf tour. ?It was to be the best season of my short career. I even made it to the final qualifying of the Open at St Andrew's. Everywhere you went that summer, you had to dodge coal trucks thundering down the backroads to avoid the pickets on the main roads while delivering coal to the power stations.

The strike was front page news every day; it was a strike that changed Britain and one that would, 40 years later, cause me to write my first thriller.

But first, the strike ...

March 6, 2024, is the 40th anniversary of The Strike. Few events in British history have stirred as much passion as the miners' strike. It was a clash of titanic proportions that shook the very foundations of society. It was a battle not merely between labor and the conservative government but a struggle for the heart and soul of the nation.

As economic storms raged across the land, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government, armed with its fervent belief in free-market reforms, set its sights on the coal mining industry. With the stroke of a bureaucratic pen, plans were unveiled to shutter twenty money-losing pits, casting tens of thousands into the abyss of unemployment. The stage was set, and the miners, led by the indomitable Arthur Scargill, rose to meet the challenge.

A Clash of Ideologies?

The announcement was the spark that ignited the flames of resistance. Across the country, picket lines sprung up with defiant banners manned by men and women prepared to fight for their livelihoods. The air crackled with tension as miners faced off against the forces of law and order, with clashes erupting in violent crescendos that echoed through the valleys. Cumulating in the infamous pitch battle involving 10,000 strikers, heavily armed police, and a mounted charge at the Orgreave coke plant.

The strike was more than an industrial dispute; it was a clash of ideologies, a battle for the essence of what it meant to be British. The miners saw themselves as the vanguard against a government intent on dismantling the fabric of society, while Thatcher's administration viewed the strike as a necessary step towards economic progress.

Comradery and Corruption?

Amidst the chaos, solidarity emerged as trade unions and supporters from all walks of life rallied for the miners' cause, sending millions in cash donations. These included hundreds of thousands of pounds in questionable donations from the Soviet Union and Colonel Muammar Ghaddafi, much of which just vanished.

For months, the struggle raged on, a relentless battle of attrition that tested the resolve of all involved. As the economic hardship for families increased, fissures appeared in the miner's solidarity, as some chose to break ranks and return to work. Thus betraying the cause for which their comrades fought, causing scars that would never heal.

Seismic Repercussions

The government's strategy of stockpiling coal and aggressive policing proved effective, while divisions within the miners' ranks sapped their strength. As the months dragged on, the inevitable became clear: the strike was doomed to failure. In March of 1985, with dreams shattered and hopes dashed, the miners laid down their arms and returned to work, defeated but unbowed.

The strike accelerated the coal industry's decline, leading to widespread pit closures and economic hardship in mining communities. It weakened the power of trade unions, emboldened the Conservative government's agenda to curb union influence, and exacerbated social divisions within the UK. The strike's legacy left lasting bitterness among miners and their communities, shaping political and social dynamics for years.

Both Thatcher and Scargill’s actions during the infamous strike are part of the plot of my new thriller, Death of a Union. The 1984 events collide with modern geopolitics forty years later as a different union disintegrates in a story of greed, murder, power, corruption, and the relentless pursuit of justice.

“This gripping geopolitical thriller strikes a rich seam connecting a fragmenting nation to a seismic secret from the darkest days of its industrial past.” Richard Moriarty, North West District Editor - The Sun

"A literary powerhouse of a thriller that seamlessly blends past and present, weaving together the events of the 1984 miners' strike with the contemporary political landscape.” Chris Riches, Correspondent for North-West England and Wales - Daily Express