E81: Miners' strikes 1972-4

Working Class History

Podcast episode about strikes by miners in Britain in 1972 and 1974, in conversation with Dave Douglass.
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Continuing our intermittent series of podcast episodes about the great strike of UK miners from 1984-5, we tell the story of what came beforehand. In this episode, we look at the historical background, and learn about the national wildcat strike in 1969, as well as the huge, nationwide official strikes of 1972 and 1974, which both defeated the Conservative government and eventually brought it down.

• E81.1 bonus episode: more about Dave’s revolutionary politics, day-to-day work in the mines, and discussion of popular images of the 1970s in the UK today. Available exclusively for our patreon supporters.
• More information about this episode, including sources, photographs, links, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/blog/e81-miners-strikes-1972-4/

Acknowledgements

• Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.
• Episode graphic: © NLA/reportdigital.co.uk.
• Edited by Louise Barry
• Theme tune courtesy of the Easington Colliery Brass Band.

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