Phillips, J. (2017) Economic direction and generational change in twentieth century Britain: the case of the Scottish coalfields. English Historical Review, 132(557), pp. 885-911. (doi:10.1093/ehr/cex199). This is the author’s final accepted version. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/142572/ Deposited on: 27 June 2017 Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow http://eprints.gla.ac.uk 1 Economic Direction and Generational Change in Twentieth Century Britain: The Case of the Scottish Coalfields* English Historical Review, August 2017 ENGHIS-2016-ART-232.R1 Jim Phillips, University of Glasgow
[email protected] Abstract Changes in economic direction in Britain in the twentieth century were incremental, rarely permanent, and strongly contested, although related trends to deindustrialisation, widening inequality and the ostracism of trade unions from policy-making were clear by the mid-1980s. This followed the defeat of the striking miners in 1984-85, a decisive movement, certainly, in macro- economic direction. This case study of the Scottish coalfields uses generational analysis to illuminate the contested nature of these long-running economic changes. Three distinct trade union generations are identified, linked to successive ideal-types of economic unit. Each represented an ever larger economy of scale, and qualitative changes in coalfield employment: ‘Village Pits’, ‘New Mines’, and ‘Cosmopolitan Collieries’. The evolving organisation of production, combined with other powerful experiences in early adulthood, formed different political goals for each successive generation.