There is now more pressure for direct government intervention to try to end the dispute. In retrospect, comparing the situation in 19-72 with the possible 1981 miners' strike and the year-long strike in 1984-1985, it is inconceivable that we have not noticed the "persistence" of the situation-that is, in the case of limited or no coal supply. How long can we keep the power stations or the economy running-and how can the cabinet be so easily deceived into believing that the coal reserves are large? Why not consider whether the coal reserves are kept at a usable site. That is to say, it is not actually placed in the power station. Massive pickets would effectively prevent oil and coal from entering power stations, an issue the cabinet has never put on the agenda. Instead, our response was to discuss the prospect of mediation by Robert Carr and the use of emergency powers, which would enable us to keep the coal reserves of the power stations for a few weeks longer by reducing the electricity supply. We had a lot of useless discussions about "turning public opinion to our side". But what can public opinion do to end the strike? That's another thing I learned from the Heath years-and anyway, by and large, public opinion is not on our side. No fewer than five States of emergency were declared under Heath. Another lesson I have learned from this period is that all the emergency implications of the term "emergency powers" and related decisions cannot be expected to change the basic reality of a labour dispute. The situation is getting worse. On the morning of Thursday, February 10, when we were all in the cabinet, the crisis arose. A state of emergency has been declared for the first two days. Robert Carr dealt directly with the National Coal Board and the National Union of Mineworkers to find a way out. John Davis made the breaking news when he told us that the workers' pickets had now secured most of the remaining coal reserves so that they could not be shipped out, and that there was not even enough coal available until the end of next week. After that, electricity production will drop to 25% of the normal supply. A major contraction in electricity is inevitable, and most industries will shut down. The attorney-general reported that the provisions of the Labour Relations Act relating to secondary picketing, resistance to supply and inducement of other workers to take action to render a commercial contract unenforceable did not come into force until 28 February. He argued that most of the workers' pickets during the strike were legal. Several arrests were made under the Penal Code,outdoor hot tub, but, as he said, "the activities of the workers' pickets made it very necessary for the police to make difficult and sensitive decisions". This is an implicit statement. The left-wing leader of the Yorkshire miners, Arthur Scargill, who organised the politically motivated miners' strikes I faced in 1984-1985, had set out to build up his combative reputation among his activists. Home Secretary Reggie Maudlin received a message to read during a cabinet meeting. The chief constable of Birmingham asked the West Midlands Gas Board to close the Sutley coke depot because transport vehicles could not enter, and 500 police officers were faced with 7,000 pickets. Understand, endless swimming pool ,4 person jacuzzi, he said, that this is a triumph of violence, with legendary significance for the left. To many politicians and commentators, it proved that no one could hope to resist the miners. The police have lost all confidence. From then on, many senior police officers paid more attention to maintaining "order" than to upholding the law. In practice, that means failing to defend the right of individuals to oppose mob rule-though, fair enough, he says, the police lack the equipment and guts to take the necessary action. To me, what happened in Sutley is as important as it is to the left. I have learned, as they have, that the struggle to hold the unions to the rule of law is not conducted in the debating chambers of the House of Commons, or even in the local courts, but in and around the mines and factories, where coercion and intimidation are allowed to prevail. Now Ted Merkin retreats. He appointed a court of inquiry headed by the unknown Lord Wilberforce.
Now, the power crisis has reached such an extent that we can only sit in the cabinet and debate whether there is enough time to wait for the National Mine 11 to end the strike through a vote of its members. It can take more than a week to organize a vote. So when Wilberforce proposed massive wage increases, no one wanted to talk about it any more. His proposed capital increase is much larger than permitted by the "no more than 1%" voluntary wage restraint policy in effect. But we were stunned when a pugnacious majority of the NUM ExCo rejected the recommendation of the Court of Inquiry and demanded more money and a host of other conditions. In the words of Joe Gaumler, the president of the miners' union, the list of demands they have made is long. Ted called us together on Friday evening, February 18, to decide what to do. In short, the controversy must end quickly. If we need to walk another mile, let's finish it! Later that night, Ted summoned representatives of the National Union of Mineworkers and the National Coal Board to Number 10 Downing Street and persuaded the union to drop its demand for more money and give in to its other demands, which the executive of the National Union of Mineworkers accepted, as did the vote of the miners only a week later. The dispute is over. But its destructive effect on the Government and indeed on British politics as a whole continues. The immediate effect of this was to convince orthodox people that there was no alternative to "totalism" in a country like Britain. The editorial in The Times on Sunday, 20 February, clearly stated: If the government wants to find anything useful from the wreckage of its wages policy after the Wilberforce settlement, it has only one way to go. It must enter into formal and serious negotiations with the CBI and the TUC in order to determine a path towards an orderly incomes policy. This requires all aspects related to industry,massage bathtub manufacturers, but first of all, the Government itself to get rid of the old panacea. This is not a loss of face, and the government can seize this last opportunity to rebuild its economic policy. monalisa.com