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History Daily

Britain’s Working Class Finds Victory in the 1972 UK Miners’ Strike

History Daily

History Daily

History

4.42.5K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

February 28, 1972. The 1972 UK Miners’ Strike, led by Arthur Scargill, comes to an end. After six weeks of struggle, the miners secure a famous victory over Ted Heath’s government, and a new force enters the British political arena. This episode originally aired in 2023.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:04.1

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0:06.0

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0:10.5

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0:29.5

It's February 3rd, 1972, at the Keyd-Bower Station in Lincolnshire, England.

0:35.2

Outside the station, Freddie Matthews joins a group of miners picketing the building's gates.

0:37.8

Freddie is a coal miner from the nearby town of Doncaster, and like the other unionized workers protesting today, Freddie is on strike.

0:43.5

Across the country, miners are unhappy with their pay and working conditions.

0:47.8

But Britain's prime minister, Ted Heath, has resisted their calls for change. So the miners

0:52.6

have had to turn to new acts of defiance

0:54.6

to gain leverage and voice their discontent.

0:57.3

Today, Freddie and his peers are here to block the delivery of coal

1:00.6

to the power station.

1:02.4

Freddy stares at the local policeman guarding the power station's gates.

1:06.1

As he sizes them up, he hears the rumbling of a nearby vehicle.

1:10.1

Freddy watches the police step aside

1:11.9

as the gates swing open for a truck carrying coal. As the vehicle approaches, Freddie and his fellow

1:17.9

miners spark to life, shouting and berating the driver. Before the truck can make it to the open gates,

1:23.7

a walled defense of angry miners surround the vehicle. But its driver refuses to succumb to the

1:29.4

picketers' will. He is a non-union member and has no interest in helping the miners. He just wants

1:35.0

to deliver the coal. He revs the truck's engine, threatening to step on the gas if the picketers don't

1:40.2

move. As the police pull miners from the road, the truck driver tries to roll forward,

...

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