Commentary: the Miner's Strike 20 years on

Sorry I missed posting on this yesterday but I had a collision with a desk down some steps and had taken on a colleague's workload in their absence (in other words - a bit bizzybaksun).

John over at Counago&Spaves writes eloquently about his response then, and now, to the Miners Strike... a very potent topic for me as a Nottingham girl who was in her 6th form years during the strike. A I have often said to my friends, my political position is that of a leftist Labour supporter of a Labour party that has unfortunately never really existed.

But the problem for us was never the old left project, it was the failure of the old left politicians to think outside the box, stop acting like dinosaurs, and think strategically instead of proprietorially or dictatorially. There was a level of machismo and slow wittedness (and a pride in both) that might be difficult to believe today, as though they thought brute force (in the form of 'solidarity,' but demanded, imposed, and controlled from on high) would guarantee victory.

I felt this summed up the emotions I felt quite well, and I would certainly urge similar-minded readers to read the C&S blog.