tomytony
Vital Champions League
I think we may have a point of agreement Rod.I like him as well Charlie,it's just we don't see eye to eye on some things and like this TRUE BLADE usually says Opinions we're all allowed them mi owd pal.UTB
WRITINT OPPORTUNITY
- Thread starter Paddy - Vital Content
- Start date
FatherKnowsBest
Vital Football Hero
Charliejoejohn2
Vital Squad Member
Opinions Eh’. Owd Arthur was the only one telling the truth about The Tories planned pit closure program. Margaret Hilda said they had no intention of closing all the mines, of which at that time there was 86 employing over 200,500 people not to mention thousands more jobs in associated industries. Another example of Tories being foreign to the truthI didn't like Scargill when he was leading lambs to the slaughter whilst feathering his own nest but now, seeing the effect he's had on some,he doesn't seem too bad
Funny how things change.
The Notts miners stayed at work to protect their jobs on the advice of Roy Link and Neil Gretrex. These two have now passed on. Just to prove what a good character Greatrex was before he died he did 4 years porridge for embezzling money from the Notts miners pension fund. Last off in the late 1980s at Treeton there were Notts miners (who hadn’t lost a days work by striking) coming there doing contract work having took their redundancy. Talk about Ten pieces of silver!! As history shows with all British coal mines being closed Arthur was proven to be correct in what he had said about pit closures and Margaret Hilda had told porkies To soften the blow for owd buggers like Rod and myself we did get generous redundancy payments plus we were well compensated from the miners pension scheme plus payments for our White finger, Chest, knee and ears. I think Rod will be satisfied with what he received, I know I was pleasantly surprised with the £65,000 lump sum plus £12,000 per year pension I received 
Charliejoejohn2
Vital Squad Member
No it wasn’t. When the Tories won the 1979 election it didn’t take them long to start dismantling the mines. From 1982 they were offering the older miners of over 50 deals to give their jobs up. They started with those aged 55. They were offered a lump sum of around £15,000 plus a weekly sum of £100 per week also 6 tons of home coal per year. At this time the pick point miners were getting around £ 110 per week basic. Most men took the offer up and when they reported to sign on the dole they were asked if they had any illness and if they had they should go on sickness benefits. This of course stopped unemployment going through the roof. They set offices up with little booths at the dole office to deal with the claimants. When they closed my pit down I was 45 years old and had worked there from 15. They offered me £30,000 that was £1000 for every years service. At that time I was earning £10,000 per year so that amounted to three years wages. I turned it down and transferred to Treeton. By the way, My old pit was a profitable colliery with plenty of reserves of coal. I was at Treeton four and half years before they decided to close it. There were around 70 miners transferred from my old pit to Treeton. On our first day at Treeton the manager a Mr Thomas had us in a meeting and told us we would have a job for 8 to 15 years. We went into a completely new seam the Haig Moor and broke all production records. In the last 18 month they started offering or bribing the miners yet again just like they had done at my old pit. They put another £10,000 on the redundancy money saying it would only be for a few months then it would be taken off. Of course the miners jumped at this offer and the number of miners dwindled. I was in a new heading to make a new coalface and went to work on afternoons travelled to the job when the phone rang. It was the colliery overman. He said don’t start cutting the pit is closing!!!! After most had left I stayed on putting concrete dams on in various places supposedly to stop water getting to other pits. They offered us a job at Dinnington or Thurcroft while we were completing the dams at Treeton and low and behold they closed both Dinnington and Thurcroft before we had completed them. When we had completed the dams I had to make the decision between going to either Selby or take redundancy and I decided to finish. I had a son and a brother both electricians who lost their jobs as well. It’s galling to me when people comment on the rights and wrongs of what happened in the miners strike when they haven’t a clue what actually went on. They’re Just going on media brain washing. I know exactly what happened I was in the thick of it!! The Tories used the same tactics in 2010 to 2014 to get rid of policemen and nurses offering people over 50 early retirement. I dare gamble they did the same in all the National company’s they privatised! It’s quite ironic they now want people to work until they’re 67.
. We went into a completely new seam the Haig Moor and broke all production records. In the last 18 month they started offering or bribing the miners yet again just like they had done at my old pit. They put another £10,000 on the redundancy money saying it would only be for a few months then it would be taken off. Of course the miners jumped at this offer and the number of miners dwindled. I was in a new heading to make a new coalface and went to work on afternoons travelled to the job when the phone rang. It was the colliery overman. He said don’t start cutting the pit is closing!!!! After most had left I stayed on putting concrete dams on in various places supposedly to stop water getting to other pits. They offered us a job at Dinnington or Thurcroft while we were completing the dams at Treeton and low and behold they closed both Dinnington and Thurcroft before we had completed them. When we had completed the dams I had to make the decision between going to either Selby or take redundancy and I decided to finish. I had a son and a brother both electricians who lost their jobs as well. It’s galling to me when people comment on the rights and wrongs of what happened in the miners strike when they haven’t a clue what actually went on. They’re Just going on media brain washing. I know exactly what happened I was in the thick of it!! The Tories used the same tactics in 2010 to 2014 to get rid of policemen and nurses offering people over 50 early retirement. I dare gamble they did the same in all the National company’s they privatised! It’s quite ironic they now want people to work until they’re 67.Attachments
Conveniently forgetting she went for the steel industry first decimating it whilst the miners sat back and watched and then had the temerity to ask us for help when she came gunning for you
reap what you sow
reap what you sow
tomytony
Vital Champions League
A bit more detail about good old Arthur- and some on here say that there's corruption and deceit fom some Tory MP's!
Accusations of financial impropriety
In 1990, Scargill was accused in a series of Daily Mirror articles of mishandling money donated for the striking miners during the 1984–1985 strike, with many of the sources being those who had previously worked with him in the NUM such as Kim Howells, Jim Parker and Roger Windsor. It was alleged that, of the money donated from Libya, Scargill took £29,000 for his own bridging loan and £25,000 for his home in Yorkshire, but gave only £10,000 to the striking Nottinghamshire miners.[31] In addition, it was alleged that he had taken £1,000,000 of cash donated by the Soviet Union for the Welsh miners and placed it in a Dublin bank account for the "International Miners' Organisation", where it stayed until a year after the strike had finished.[31] There was much criticism of Scargill within the NUM from the Welsh and Scottish areas, who briefly considered splitting from the NUM.[32] An internal NUM report by Gavin Lightman QC found that Scargill had used some of the Libyan money to pay for improvements to his bungalow but not to pay off his mortgage (as had been alleged),[33] and stated that Scargill's failure to make a full report on the Soviet money donated for the Welsh miners was "a remarkable breach of duty" and that he should repay the money back to the NUM.[34] Scargill accepted Lightman's statement that many of his actions suffered from a lack of professional advice, which he was unwilling to be bound by.[33]
In July 1990, the NUM executive voted unanimously to sue Scargill and general secretary Peter Heathfield.[35] Negotiations between Scargill and the NUM took place in France. Airport staff at Leeds-Bradford Airport identified Scargill attempting to travel under a false name (Arthur Fenn) wearing a disguise on 20 July, and turned him away to purchase a genuine ticket with his true identity.[36] In September 1990, the Certification Officer brought criminal charges against Scargill and Heathfield for wilfully neglecting to perform the union's duty to keep proper accounting records.[37] Scargill reached an agreement to repay money to the NUM shortly after this.[37] The prosecution brought by the Certification Officer was rejected in July 1991 on the grounds that it would be inappropriate to use the material provided in confidence to Lightman's enquiry.[3
In 1993, Scargill tried to use Thatcher's flagship Right to Buy scheme to buy a flat on the Barbican estate in central London. His application was refused because the flat in the Barbican Estate's Shakespeare Tower was not Scargill's primary residence. Former Scargill loyalist Jimmy Kelly, a miner at the Edlington Main pit near Doncaster in the 1980s, said he was astonished to learn of the attempt to buy the flat. "It's so hypocritical it's unreal," he said. "It was Thatcher's legislation, actually giving council tenants the right to buy their own houses. I think if it had been made public before then there'd have been a huge outcry. I think people would be astounded if they knew that."[42]
On 25 August 2010, it was reported that Scargill had been told that he no longer qualified for full membership of the NUM under union rules that he had helped draw up, but was only eligible for "life", "retired" or "honorary" membership, none of which carried voting rights.[43] In February 2012, Scargill won £13,000 in a court action against the NUM, primarily for car expenses, and for the earlier temporary denial of membership.
Scargill admitted there was 'bad blood' between him and the NUM general secretary Chris Kitchen, who said, "I honestly do believe that Arthur, in his own world, believes that the NUM is here to afford him the lifestyle that he's become accustomed to."[44] However, in December 2012, Scargill lost a similar case concerning rent on his flat in the Barbican, London. In 2012, the flat was valued at £1,500,000, and had 24/7 access to concierge services.[45]
For years the NUM had been paying £34,000 annual rent for the flat on Scargill's instructions, Scargill claimed the NUM should continue funding his flat for the rest of his life, and thereafter for any widow who survived him.F Chris Kitchen said: "I would say it's time to walk away, Mr Scargill. You've been found out. The NUM is not your personal bank account and never will be again." Kitchen says that Scargill "has had 30 years of decent living out of the union, and he's got a pension that's second to none. Had he done the humble thing and walked away with what he were entitled to, his reputation would still be intact... I've always said that if Arthur can no longer control the NUM, he'll try and destroy it. That's what I believe".[47]
Accusations of financial impropriety
In 1990, Scargill was accused in a series of Daily Mirror articles of mishandling money donated for the striking miners during the 1984–1985 strike, with many of the sources being those who had previously worked with him in the NUM such as Kim Howells, Jim Parker and Roger Windsor. It was alleged that, of the money donated from Libya, Scargill took £29,000 for his own bridging loan and £25,000 for his home in Yorkshire, but gave only £10,000 to the striking Nottinghamshire miners.[31] In addition, it was alleged that he had taken £1,000,000 of cash donated by the Soviet Union for the Welsh miners and placed it in a Dublin bank account for the "International Miners' Organisation", where it stayed until a year after the strike had finished.[31] There was much criticism of Scargill within the NUM from the Welsh and Scottish areas, who briefly considered splitting from the NUM.[32] An internal NUM report by Gavin Lightman QC found that Scargill had used some of the Libyan money to pay for improvements to his bungalow but not to pay off his mortgage (as had been alleged),[33] and stated that Scargill's failure to make a full report on the Soviet money donated for the Welsh miners was "a remarkable breach of duty" and that he should repay the money back to the NUM.[34] Scargill accepted Lightman's statement that many of his actions suffered from a lack of professional advice, which he was unwilling to be bound by.[33]
In July 1990, the NUM executive voted unanimously to sue Scargill and general secretary Peter Heathfield.[35] Negotiations between Scargill and the NUM took place in France. Airport staff at Leeds-Bradford Airport identified Scargill attempting to travel under a false name (Arthur Fenn) wearing a disguise on 20 July, and turned him away to purchase a genuine ticket with his true identity.[36] In September 1990, the Certification Officer brought criminal charges against Scargill and Heathfield for wilfully neglecting to perform the union's duty to keep proper accounting records.[37] Scargill reached an agreement to repay money to the NUM shortly after this.[37] The prosecution brought by the Certification Officer was rejected in July 1991 on the grounds that it would be inappropriate to use the material provided in confidence to Lightman's enquiry.[3
In 1993, Scargill tried to use Thatcher's flagship Right to Buy scheme to buy a flat on the Barbican estate in central London. His application was refused because the flat in the Barbican Estate's Shakespeare Tower was not Scargill's primary residence. Former Scargill loyalist Jimmy Kelly, a miner at the Edlington Main pit near Doncaster in the 1980s, said he was astonished to learn of the attempt to buy the flat. "It's so hypocritical it's unreal," he said. "It was Thatcher's legislation, actually giving council tenants the right to buy their own houses. I think if it had been made public before then there'd have been a huge outcry. I think people would be astounded if they knew that."[42]
On 25 August 2010, it was reported that Scargill had been told that he no longer qualified for full membership of the NUM under union rules that he had helped draw up, but was only eligible for "life", "retired" or "honorary" membership, none of which carried voting rights.[43] In February 2012, Scargill won £13,000 in a court action against the NUM, primarily for car expenses, and for the earlier temporary denial of membership.
Scargill admitted there was 'bad blood' between him and the NUM general secretary Chris Kitchen, who said, "I honestly do believe that Arthur, in his own world, believes that the NUM is here to afford him the lifestyle that he's become accustomed to."[44] However, in December 2012, Scargill lost a similar case concerning rent on his flat in the Barbican, London. In 2012, the flat was valued at £1,500,000, and had 24/7 access to concierge services.[45]
For years the NUM had been paying £34,000 annual rent for the flat on Scargill's instructions, Scargill claimed the NUM should continue funding his flat for the rest of his life, and thereafter for any widow who survived him.F Chris Kitchen said: "I would say it's time to walk away, Mr Scargill. You've been found out. The NUM is not your personal bank account and never will be again." Kitchen says that Scargill "has had 30 years of decent living out of the union, and he's got a pension that's second to none. Had he done the humble thing and walked away with what he were entitled to, his reputation would still be intact... I've always said that if Arthur can no longer control the NUM, he'll try and destroy it. That's what I believe".[47]
Last edited:
Chips1889
Vital Football Hero
Propaganda works with some.No it wasn’t. When the Tories won the 1979 election it didn’t take them long to start dismantling the mines. From 1982 they were offering the older miners of over 50 deals to give their jobs up. They started with those aged 55. They were offered a lump sum of around £15,000 plus a weekly sum of £100 per week also 6 tons of home coal per year. At this time the pick point miners were getting around £ 110 per week basic. Most men took the offer up and when they reported to sign on the dole they were asked if they had any illness and if they had they should go on sickness benefits. This of course stopped unemployment going through the roof. They set offices up with little booths at the dole office to deal with the claimants. When they closed my pit down I was 45 years old and had worked there from 15. They offered me £30,000 that was £1000 for every years service. At that time I was earning £10,000 per year so that amounted to three years wages. I turned it down and transferred to Treeton. By the way, My old pit was a profitable colliery with plenty of reserves of coal. I was at Treeton four and half years before they decided to close it. There were around 70 miners transferred from my old pit to Treeton. On our first day at Treeton the manager a Mr Thomas had us in a meeting and told us we would have a job for 8 to 15 years
