'Hatred' of Margaret Thatcher 'still burns bright' in Scots mining communities 40 years on, says MP

“Hatred” of Margaret Thatcher “still burns bright” in Scottish mining communities 40 years on, an MP has said.

Owen Thompson MP blasted the legacy of the former Prime Minister as he urged the UK Government to pardon miners and launch an inquiry as the 40th anniversary of the strikes looms.

The Midlothian MP also hit out at Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer for ignoring his calls for a pardon in Scotland for those convicted of offences relating to the 1984-1985 strike to be extended south of the border.

He spoke out as a new documentary highlights the horrific impact of the strikes and the government crackdown.

Thompson said: “The hatred of Margaret Thatcher in our mining communities still burns bright 40 years on.

Midlothian MP Owen Thompson

“People have not forgotten what went on. It was like a civil war. Thatcher’s name is poison in my constituency.

“Very little has changed – the Tories didn’t care about working people under Thatcher and they could not give a toss now either.

“Just look at the 2,800 job losses announced by Tata which all fall within Wales – a place devastated by the strikes.

“Keir Starmer has snubbed the working people that he claims to represent by remaining silent about my calls for the pardon.

“We still have not got to the bottom of what went on – we need a full, independent inquiry to do that.

“The miners’ strike is a poignant chapter in Scotland’s history, symbolising the struggle of industrial workers against UK government policies hostile to their livelihoods and communities.

“It helped shape political attitudes in Scotland, contributing to an even greater sense of a distinct Scottish identity and political divergence from the rest of the UK.”

The strike started in Yorkshire in 1984 before spreading like wildfire.

A picket line outside Bilston Glen colliery in Midlothian during the 1984 miners’ strike

On March 12, 1984, militant NUM leader Arthur Scargill called a UK-wide walkout.

On the first Monday of the national strike, trouble flared as working miners were attacked and strikers were dragged off by police.

The action caused immediate economic hardship for the miners and their families and led to financial difficulties, including increased debt and poverty among mining families.

Men from Polmaise colliery at Fallin, near Stirling, were among the first to walk out because their pit was one of the first on the closure hit list.

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Bilston Glen, near Loanhead, Midlothian, became the centre for regular battles between police and miners.

The pit, which once employed more than 2000 people, was finally shut in 1989.

Last month, Thompson revealed that he will present a bill to the UK Parliament calling for a law change to overturn the convictions of hundreds of miners during the violent industrial dispute.

The Midlothian MP wants to extend a law passed in Scotland last year to England and Wales.

He said the “convictions were a travesty of justice” and that the miners were “heroes, not criminals”.

He called for Labour leader Keir Starmer to include a pardon in his election manifesto.

Thompson said: “It is a disgrace that Sir Keir Starmer has not seen fit to even respond or to seek to discuss the pardon with me.

“We can see where his priorities lie and they are clearly not in Scotland or our former mining communities.”

Thompson also welcomed a three-part documentary series into the strikes which explores the lasting impact.

He said: “It is right that this documentary shines a light on a scar on the nation’s soul.

“The stress of the strike and its aftermath, including unemployment and social division, continues to have a significant impact on mental and physical health.

“I can see the real-life impacts of that time in my constituency in the form of social deprivation, depression, alcoholism and family breakdowns – yet another of Thatcher’s hideous legacies.”

Miners’ Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain airs on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight.

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