The National Coal Board was a heavily state subsidised nationalised inefficient industry with a terrible record of industrial action from the National Union of Mine Workers who resisted any attempt to modernise it.

Ian MacGregor was appointed as head of the National Coal Board with a brief to bring the industry into profit. He came with a good CV having previously been the head of Britsh Steel where he had turned one of the worst steel makers into one of the best in Europe in just two years. But this was at the expense of a 50% reduction in the workforce.

His plan was not "to close down most of the pits" but to close 20 pits with the loss of 20,000 jobs (out of a total of almost 200,000) that was 3 fewer than the 1981 plan before MacGregor's time. Scargill, who actually got little right, would not accept closure of uneconomic mines but did not call a national strike for fear of losing the ballot. Instead he sought to bring them all out by allowing each region to call its own strike. the national total was a little over 70% that went on strike.

There was much intimidation and violence with miner set against miner and there were several deaths due to violence including a taxi driver who was killed taking a non striking miner to work. The Police IMO were far too heavy handed and were guilty of violence themselves. The majority of public opinion was against the miners before the strike and even more so after the strike with some 84% saying they were irresponsible in a Gallop poll. There was some evidence that Scargill received funding from Soviet Russian.

An ironic point was that among the first pits to be closed after the strike were two that were economical but had been rendered dangerous by a lack of maintenance due to the strike. Equally many customers deserted coal as a fuel due to the miners actions and this caused further closures. Many of pit closures that followed were in the 1990's.

Having worked for a little time in the late 60's and early 70's in mining communities in Yorkshire I was greatly saddened for the mining communities who was tragically misled by Scargill. The NUM did not make strike payments to miners, only paying the pickets, and because the union failed to hold an official ballot meant the strike was illegal and miners could not receive social security. The failed strike made a difficult situation much worse for those communities and unemployment in other industries rose as a result of the strike. I fully understand the deep resentment felt in these communities but IMO it is misdirected due to negative spin from the Unions to cover their stupidity.

This led to almost a national strike but 20,000 out of 27,000 Nottinghamshire miners voted against the strike. Two miners took the union to court and the High Court ruled that the NUM had broken its own consitution by calling for a strike before holding a ballot. Scargill and the union were fined but the union refused to pay the court and had transfered its assets abroad. The TUC did not support the NUM siding with Mrs Thatchers call for a national ballot.

The Steelworkers did not support the strike neither did various othe unions including electricians, plumbers and telecommunications workers. Even the labour supporting daily Mirrow and Guardian were against the strike with only the Morning Star in support.

Sources: My own memories of the time and various internet sites to check the detail.

No what I'm saying you foolish little man is that all governments of whatever colour do bad things and due to her longevity in power she did more than most - I DON'T DENY THAT. However this attempt to over vilify her by the left wing right on brigade is so typical of the selective memory bandwagon jumping creed your sort push. The thing about politics and religion my friend is that how you judge someone or something depends hugely on what your own personal opinions are.

So to some she was a saint to other the devil. Unlike you however I don't assume my viewpoint is the only one or the correct one - it's called seeing the other point of view - you should try it.

Thatcher inherited a disgraceful mess from a truly dreadful Labour government - hard decisions were needed - whether she was right or wrong she at least made them which in my book makes her the only real man to run the country in the last 50 years.

But then that's the crux isn't it - she was a women but not the kind the PC brigade wanted. Middle class, white, conservative and above all capable of making her own mind up and you can't forgive her for it. If she had been Fred Thatcher PM I doubt there would be half the fuss.

She was not my kind of person but she won and that's all there is to it and by and large the UK today is a better place than it was than in 1979 unless of course you lived in the mythical 1979 that so many on here did.

Grow up and be a man about it.

Is this a balance view. Give over.

The stats say she was hugely popular with 2 landslide election victories - at least attempt to talk sense.

Moro I would say but like Blair she went past the sell buy date

And yours is? Give over.

If you think that things like Section 28, corrupt arms deals to Saudi Arabia, preferring PW Botha to Mandela, and training the Khmer Rouge in guerrilla combat to appease the Chinese are simply necessary evils of someone in power. Then you are wrong. They are horrible, avoidable, evil things. If you disagree, then you are an evil person. There is no other way of putting it.

And not one single one of them, were in any way shape or form, down to any influence of the previous labour governments.

Once again your facts are wrong. The strike was about closing about 10% of the mines because they were uneconomic.

What he said ^^^

You can soon tell those who were adults in the 70s and 80s and those who have just read Wiki to try and look clever can't you ?

So it doesn't matter whether the decisions were right or wrong just that they were made? That doesn't make sense to me. I mean, some of they you could perhaps argue were bad decisions but some of them were ideological decisions not based on sound reasoning or without consideration for the long-term implications for the UK and its people.

Defend them then. Defend blatanly, unarguably homophobic legislation. Explain why sending an elite fighting force to train a genocidal manics army in guerrilla combat isn’t so bad. Give us the positives of corrupt arms dealings, whats the balance to sheltering Pinochet?

have at it

What he said too ^^^

You can soon tell who was an adult in the 70s and 80s ...etc

What is the record pages for a thread?

She had an overall majority. Thats our democratic system. But of course you prefer the side of the undemocratic don't you?