RE: Politics (and other political stuff)
The thing with the Miners Strike, and I believe I've said the same in another thread, is that the mines in the North East would have probably closed within the next decade anyway. Pit closures were already commonplace in the region (most of which happened in the 1950 and 60s) and what was left were the remnants of an industry which was already dead. While the actions of Thatcher should come under immense scrutiny, and I hope someone does launch a test case in light of recent evidence, she cannot be held responsible for the plight of the industry. Although the North East sits upon a huge seam of coal, most of the quality coal - for lack of a better term - had been exhausted. We must not forget that coal had been mined extensively in the region since the 14th century. Getting to the good stuff required deeper, more expensive mines and, as the coal industry started to decline, it became cheaper to import coal from other countries. The communities affected by the Miners Strike would have arguably faced the same economic hardships irrespective of the actions of Thatcher although I suspect the transition from coal mining into other industries might have been smoother as miners could have been retrained gradually rather than just having their culled with no other options.