(Re)Writing the 1984–1985 UK Miners’ Strike

Abstract

The UK miners’ strike of 1984–1985 was a defining moment in the history of the United Kingdom, one that not only illuminates the country’s near-history, but functions as a prism through which to understand the social, political and economic challenges of the twenty-first century. More than twenty-five years on, the strike remains a profound focus of cultural, social and political interest because its legacies are as much about the future of the United Kingdom as its past. From cultures of worklessness and social damage, to the role of regional development agencies and community initiatives, the 1984–1985 UK miners’ strike was instrumental in establishing a range of discourses that came to define the subsequent decades.