Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
THE Scottish government agreed in principle on October 28 to a collective and posthumous pardon for 500-plus miners who were convicted in Scotland for breach of the peace or breach of bail during the 1984-85 strike.
Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf announced the decision in the Scottish Parliament following publication of the final report of the Independent Review of policing in Scotland during the strike, chaired by John Scott QC.
Miners in Scotland and other coalfield areas in Britain experienced serious injustice in two ways in 1984-85.
MIKE QUILLE applauds an excellent example of cultural democracy: making artworks which are a relevant, integral part of working-class lives
The Home Secretary’s recent letter suggests the Labour government may finally deliver on its nine-year manifesto commitment, writes KATE FLANNERY, but we must move quickly: as recently as 2024 Northumbria police destroyed miners’ strike documents
KATE CLARK recalls an occasion when the president of the Scottish National Union of Mineworkers might just have saved a Chilean prisoner’s life


