Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has claimed that a fear of being scapegoated by Arthur Scargill if miners lost their heroic 1984-85 strike was behind his startling inaction during the walkout.
Mr Kinnock gives the excuse in the final episode of a documentary series about the miners’ strike set to be shown on Welsh channel S4C this evening.
Looking back at the famous strike, he insists he was “absolutely helpless” to stop Thatcher’s war on miners and the coalfield communities.
Plaid Cymru’s Caerffili by-election win raised hopes on the left — but the complex realities of Wales suggest the Senedd election may be far less predictable, argues CATRIN ASHTON
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
The Gala’s core message of working-class solidarity offers renewed hope and provides the antidote to the anti-worker policies of Reform UK, argues IAN LAVERY MP


