Durham E-Theses A striking change: political transformation in the Murton miners' and mechanic*' branches of the national union of mineworkera, county Durham, 1978-1988 Renouf, Jonathan How to cite: Renouf, Jonathan (1989) A striking change: political transformation in the Murton miners' and mechanic*' branches of the national union of mineworkera, county Durham, 1978-1988, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6470/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 JONATHAN RENQUF A STRIKII«e CHANGE} Political transforaation in thm Hurton alnars' and aechanics' branches of the National Union of nineworkers, County Durhaa* 1978-1988. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Durham, 1989. ABSTRACT This thesis examines processes of political change in the Murton miners' and mechanics' branches of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) between 1978 and 198S. During this period both branches swung from the right of the NUM's political spectrum to the left. Recent debates in human geography - and the social sciences more generally - have drawn attention to the importance of place in analysing social developments. However, a review of the literature reveals a surprising lack of detailed studies undertaken at the local level. In order to understand the constraints under which events at a local level take place, it is necessary to place them in context. The coal industry is therefore located at the centre of a complex set of institutionalised relationships between capital, labour and the state known as the "post war settlement" <PWS). As economic crisis deepened in the 1970's, the PWS came under attack. In the coal industry this led to the progressive destabilisation of a characteristic "indulgency pattern" which had built up in the post war years. At Murton, this destabilisation created the room for left wing activists to build support in miners' and mechanics' branches. However, their impact was unevenly distributed among the workforce because miners from different backgrounds were affected in different ways by the crisis in the industry. Cleavages of age and residence led to significant differences in miners' and mechanics' understanding of the crisis facing the industry. This thesis examines the interaction between local union branch leadership, the changing situation in the coal industry, and divisions within the workforce during three distinct periods: from 1978 until the eve of the 198^^/5 strike; the strike itself; and the period since the strike until the end of 1988. A STRIKING CHANGES Political transformation in the Murton miners' and mschanics' branches of the National Union of Mineworkersy County Durham* 1978-1788. By JONATHAN RENOUF The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be pubhshed without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. University of Durham Department of Geography September, 1989 MAR 1991 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT S During four years of research I have inevitably accumulated countless debts of gratitude. Equally inevitably, it is irtpossible to acknowledge all of them here. However, I would especially like to thank the Jersey Education Contmittee for funding my research, and my father for providing the "parental contribution" called for under Jersey's (rather archaic) system of financing PhD's. Thanks also to my supervisor. Dr. Ray Hudson, to the Department of Geography at Durham University for making available research facilities (in particular, the department vehicles), and to Sinclair for endless help in getting to grips with PC's. I owe particular thanks to the people who have been prepared to spend time discussing the problems and ideas in my thesis. Tim Peppin, Ross Forbes and Jonathan Winterton were particularly generous in this regard. During the period of writing up this thesis, John Tomaney heroically read and re-read innumerable drafts, and offered invaluable advice and criticism. My mother. Grandfather, Dave and Alison have offered unstinting support, and provided a refuge whenever I needed to escape the pressure of work. Many friends - in Durham and elsewhere - helped me in ways they probably never realised. I hope they know just how valuable they were, even if lack of space precludes me from mentioning them all by name. Sally Ruane was particularly inportant. Lizzie Pender helped make 8 Quarryheads Lane a happy home. The Danes, especially Dorte, lifted me when Durham seemed to have lost its sparkle. In London, the "Hard News" team eased me gently into "life after a Ph.D". Most of all though, I owe thanks to Susanne Schech for four great years of friendship. Finally, in Murton itself lies perhaps the biggest debt of all. To all those people who gave me so much of their time, I can only express deepest thanks. I hope this thesis, for all its faults, goes some way to justifying the time they gave me. In particular, Frank Duffy, Dave Teit^le, and everyone I met in the Colliery Inn made this thesis not only possible, but for me, a thoroughly rewarding experience. CONTENTS CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 PREE-ACE 1.1.i The main questions 1.1.ii Organisation of the thesis 1.2 SETTING TEDB SCENE: PUBLISHED AOOODNTS OF THE STRIKE 7 1.2.i "Insider" accounts: the thin Tory line 1.2.ii Lessons from the left? 1.2.iii Journalistic accounts: objectivity in the service of the state? 1.2.iv Academic accounts: eit^jhasising place 1.2.V Conclusions 1.3 CLASS AND PLACE 20 1.3.i Preliminary comments 1.3.ii Searching for a space for place 1.4 OOaiCLDSION 24 CHAPTER TWO: ANTI-CLOSURE CAMPAIGNS AND THE DISINTEGRATING POST WAR SETTLEMENT INTROODCTION 26 2.1 ANTI-CLOSURE CAHPAIOIS: LESS(»S FROM THE PAST? 28 2.1.i UCS and the state "U" turn 2.1.ii The lessons from steel 2.2 STATE STRATEGY AND THE DECLINE OF THE POST liAR SETTLEMENT 36 2.2.L The post war settlement (PWS) in Britain 2.2.ii The PWS in crisis 2.2.iii Thatcherism and the reassertion of control 2.3 OOOICLOSIONS 48 CHAPTER THREE: TRADE UNIONS IN CAPITALIST SOCIETY: LIMITATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES INTROOXJCTION 50 3.1 XRADE nmONS AND XHE REPK(H)UCTIQN OF CAPIXALISM 52 3.1.1 Incorporation theory 3.1.ii Sectionalism S.l.iii A theory of opportuinism 3.2 STRIKES AND OCXISCIODSNESS 62 3.2.i The mass strike 3.2.ii Micro scale studies 3.3 CONSCIODSNESS AT THE LOCAL I£VEL 69 3.3.i Case study 1: factory consciousness at Ford 3.3.ii Case study 2: Trade unions and corporate capital: the case of "ChemCo" 3.3.iii Studying local leadership in detail 3.3.iv Conclusions from the case studies 3.4 OOMCCDSIQNS: THE LIMITS OF TRADE UNION OONSCIOaSNESS 77 CHAPTER FOUR: COUNTDOWN TO CONFLICT: THE UK COAL INDUSTRY 1974-84 INTROODCIION 80 4.1 BEFORE 1974: A BRIEF RESOME 82 4.2 1974-1979: lABOOR IN POflER? 84 4.2.i Plan for coal, and the contradictions of incorporation 4.2.ii The incentive scheme in context: the NUM and the Social Contract 4.2.111 Splitting the NUM with incentives 4.3 1979-1984: HEADLOSHS INTO O(»IFRC»lTATI0N 93 4.3.1 Coal and crisis 4.3.11 The organised state offensive against labour 4.3.111 Headlong towards conflict 4.4 THE DURHAM COALFIELD 1947-1984 101 4.4.1 To the edge of extinction: the Durham coalfield up to 1978 4.4.11 Post 1978: Destabilisation and the beginnings of change 4.5 OGaiCI.(7SIGH 109 TABLES 4.1 - 4.11 Ill CHAPTER FIVE: MURTON BEFORE THE STRIKE INTRODUCTION 117 5.1 THE MORTON BRANCHES BEFORE 1978 119 5.1.1 Murton the village 5.1.11 Old style union politics 5.1.111 Murton lives on 5.2 UNION POLITICS BEFORE POHER LOADING 126 5.2.111 The effect of mechanisation and the NPLA a) On the mechanics b) On the miners 5.2.111 Pit closures in the 1960's 5.2.iv The 1972 and 1974 strikes 5.3 DESTABILISATKm ONE: THE AREA INCENTIVE SCHEME 135 5.3.1 How the Incentive scheme works 5.3.11 Disputes over the incentive scheme at Murton 5.4 LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE 142 5.4.1 The miners' lodge 5.4.11 The mechanics' branch a) The "C" seam loco' road dispute b) The nurses day of action 5.5 DESTABILISATION TflO: TRAVELLERS 151 5.5.1 How Murton reacted to the travellers from Blackhall 5.5.ii How Blackhall travellers reacted to Murton 5.6 DESTABILISATION THREE: THE CHANGING AGE COMPOSITKW OF THE HORKFORCE 158 5.7 DESTABILISATION FODR: PIT CLOSURES, REDUNDANC7 AND UNEMPLOZMEHT . 162 5.6.i The South Hetton debacle 5.6.ii East Hetton closes down 5.6.iii Murton under threat 5.6.iv The SEAM campaign and the advance of the left in the mechanics 5.6.V Run up to March 1984 5.8 CONCLUSION 173 TABLES 5.1-5.5 175 CHAPTER SIX: MURTON AND THE STRIKE INTRODlKrTION 181 6.1 THE START OF THE STRIKE 185 6.1.i Murton miners divided 6.1.ii The mechanics take the lead 6.1.iii All out 6.1.iv The ballot that never was 6.2 ACTIVISTS 192 6.2.1 Who were the pickets? 6.2.ii Pickets young and old a) Picketing divisions 1 older