National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)

National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)
Name	National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)
Founded	1945
Predecessor	Miners' Federation of Great Britain
Dissolved	2015 (federal structure largely defunct)
Members	Peak ~850,000 (1950s)
Key people	Arthur Scargill, Mick McGahey, Joe Gormley, Harold Wilson, Dennis Skinner
Headquarters	London

National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was a major trade union representing coal miners across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from 1945 into the late 20th century. It emerged from the industrial campaigning traditions of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain and became central to disputes involving the National Coal Board, successive Conservative Party and Labour Party administrations, and wider social movements including the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Communist Party of Great Britain. The NUM's trajectory intersected with figures and events such as Arthur Scargill, the 1972 UK miners' strike, the 1974 miners' strike, and the 1984–85 miners' strike.

History

The NUM was established in 1945 during post-World War II reconstruction when nationalisation of the coal industry under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 created the National Coal Board. Early postwar leaders included Aneurin Bevan-era allies and unionists who negotiated with Clement Attlee's Labour Party government. In the 1950s and 1960s the NUM consolidated lodges and collieries inherited from the Miners' Federation of Great Britain and confronted pit closures tied to changing energy markets influenced by imports and the rise of North Sea oil. The NUM led national strikes in 1972 and 1974 that affected administrations including the Edward Heath government and precipitated the February 1974 general election. Internal divisions sharpened in the 1970s between moderates such as Joe Gormley and militants like Mick McGahey and later Arthur Scargill, whose 1981 election to leadership set the stage for the 1984–85 strike against Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party government and the National Coal Board's closure programme. The defeat of the 1984–85 strike, legal challenges involving the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1984, and privatisation policies under John Major and Margaret Thatcher precipitated steep membership decline and structural losses into the 1990s and 2000s.

Organisation and Structure

The NUM operated as a federal confederation of area associations and colliery lodges, with a National Executive Committee and a National Conference that elected a President and Vice Presidents. Its national headquarters liaised with the National Coal Board and with political bodies including the Labour Party's National Executive Committee. Area associations included the Yorkshire Area of the NUM, Nottinghamshire Area of the NUM, Durham Area of the NUM, and the Scottish Area of the NUM, each with distinct traditions seen in clashes such as Nottinghamshire's breakaway creating the Union of Democratic Mineworkers. The NUM engaged with industrial bodies like the TUC, legal institutions such as the High Court of Justice, and campaign groups including Women Against Pit Closures and solidarity networks supporting miners in Poland and South Africa.

Membership and Demographics

At its peak in the 1950s the NUM represented roughly 700,000–850,000 workers across British coalfields in regions like South Wales Coalfield, Lanarkshire, Derbyshire, Northumberland, and Somerset. Membership demographic shifts followed mechanisation, with declines in pit numbers and changes in workforce gender, age and skill composition similar to wider transformations affecting Tyneside and Merseyside industrial communities. Immigrant labour patterns linked the NUM to communities from Ireland, Caribbean nations, and Poland in earlier decades. Regional loyalty and lodge-level culture produced diverse political tendencies, from strong support for Communist Party of Great Britain militants to alignment with mainstream Labour Party officials such as Harold Wilson supporters.

Industrial Action and Strikes

The NUM organised major industrial actions including the national strikes of 1972, 1974 and the infamous 1984–85 national strike. The 1972 strike led to the Liberal-Conservative political crisis that influenced the Sunningdale Agreement era politics, while the 1974 action contributed to the fall of the Edward Heath government. The 1984–85 strike, led by Arthur Scargill, involved mass picketing at sites like Orgreave and drew policing responses from forces including the South Yorkshire Police; confrontations produced controversies mirrored in inquiries similar to later debates about Hillsborough policing. Legal rulings under the era's industrial relations acts constrained strike funding and solidarity action, and disputes with breakaway groups such as the Union of Democratic Mineworkers fractured national coordination.

Political Activity and Influence

The NUM exerted substantial influence within the Labour Party and British politics, funding campaigns and shaping policy debates on nationalisation, energy strategy, and welfare. NUM leaders engaged with national politicians like Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, and later opposed Margaret Thatcher policies on privatisation. The union deployed political lobbying at institutions including the House of Commons, engaged in solidarity with international movements such as anti-apartheid campaigns linked to Nelson Mandela's supporters, and featured NUM figures contesting parliamentary seats like Dennis Skinner who became prominent as a left-wing MP. Electoral and policy interventions by the NUM were matched by cultural outreach through miners' choirs, literature referencing George Orwell-era labour concerns, and film portrayals connected to British social realism.

Campaigns and Welfare Services

Beyond strikes, the NUM ran extensive welfare services including miners' welfare institutes, sports clubs, and benefit funds administered at lodge level to aid injured or unemployed miners. The union coordinated campaigns on industrial safety following disasters at collieries such as Aberfan and Cortonwood and pushed for regulations at bodies like the Health and Safety Executive. NUM programmes supported community regeneration in former pit towns and allied with groups like National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers on broader labour campaigns, and partnered with organisations such as Women Against Pit Closures to mobilise family and community support.

Legacy and Decline

The NUM's legacy includes its role in shaping postwar industrial policy, trade union law precedents, and working-class culture in coalfield regions like South Yorkshire and South Wales. Defeat in the 1984–85 strike, legislative changes such as the Trade Union Act 1984 and privatisation under Margaret Thatcher accelerated closure of pits and reduced NUM membership, leading to the union's federal structures becoming marginal by the 21st century. Contemporary remembrance of the NUM survives through museums like the National Coal Mining Museum for England, archives at institutions including the Modern Records Centre and ongoing scholarship connecting NUM history to debates about deindustrialisation in Britain, energy transition controversies, and regional identity.

Category:Trade unions in the United Kingdom Category:Mining trade unions