The Scottish Government
last week announced that it will introduce legislation to quash the criminal
convictions of hundreds of former Scottish coal miners, after publishing an
independent review which was partly informed by research from a Northumbria
University academic.
Hundreds of former miners received
convictions during the 1984-85 miners’ strike following a dispute between the
unions and the state-run National Coal Board (NCB) over pit closures across the
UK.
Professor Andrew Perchard,
from Northumbria’s Newcastle Business School, is an expert in the history of
the British coal industry, including studying the legacy of the 1984-5 strike
and of coalfield closures. Findings from his research were cited in the Review,
which investigated policing of the industrial action. Launched by then-Justice
Secretary Michael Matheson MSP in 2018 and chaired by John Scott QC, the Review
concluded that most convictions would not be upheld today, and that punishments
were handed out in a “grossly excessive manner”. These findings are expected
to lead to new legislation paving the way for convictions to be overturned.
According to the Coalfields
Regeneration Trust up to 6 million people across the UK with ties to the mining
industry are still being disproportionately affected by coalfield closures (and
the legacy of the strike), leaving a legacy of profound scars on their communities
and socioeconomic inequalities. Removing the criminal records would therefore
come as a relief for miners and their families who have been campaigning for
decades to clear their names.
Professor Perchard’s
research has also looked at how the strike was managed by the National Coal
Board in Scotland compared with other areas of the UK. He explains: “The
overwhelming majority of those striking miners in Scotland who received
convictions for public order offences did so for very minor transgressions. That had a profound impact for those involved,
especially as the hard-line attitude of the then NCB Area Director meant that
many of them were not reemployed in the industry after the Strike and
experienced discrimination in seeking other employment. This can be contrasted with the far more
measured and humane approach of the South Wales Area Director. Having a criminal
record has brought significant hardship and stigma, including marital and
family breakdowns, and mental health issues. The impact has been felt over many
years and has been multi-generational and hit whole families. It has also resulted in a profound distrust
of the police in mining areas.”
Professor Perchard is also currently
co-leading a large research project,
with Professor Keith Gildart at the University of Wolverhampton, with £655,000 of
funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) investigating the history
of the nationalised coal industry and the legacy of pit closures. He hopes that
this ongoing work will help to inform and prompt policy makers and governments
elsewhere in the UK to look again at these convictions.
“Sadly many former miners
will have died before receiving any pardon – but if my research, and that of
other historians, can contribute in any way to persuade policy makers to look
again at these convictions then that would be all to the good”, he added.”
Professor John Wilson, Pro
Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Business and Law, said: “The 1984-5 miners
strike was a landmark moment in the nation’s industrial and cultural history,
and one which has left a mark on communities right across the UK. To be able to
contribute to and shape policy-making around how we manage this legacy reflects
the clear impact our research at Northumbria can have and the difference it can make to peoples’ lives. I congratulate Professor Perchard on his work.”
The almost
year-long nationwide strike began in 1984 over large-scale colliery closures.
It was also seen as a political struggle between Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher’s Conservative government and the trade unions.
