Paper short abstract:

The Miner’s strike of 1984-85 is a pivotal point in British history. It was a dispute that divided Britain, smashed mining communities, broke families and symbolises the defeat of the labour movement and has consequences that still reverberate across British society today.

Paper long abstract:

The 31st anniversary of the 1984-85 miners' strike is marked by calls in parliament for an official enquiry into the policing of the strike and the end of deep mining in Britain with the clearing of the remains of Kellingley Colliery. This paper will examine some of the issues surrounding the portrayal of the striking miners, who were in 1984, vilified in the media as the "Enemy Within". It will discuss how the "Enemy within" have now been rehabilitated to such a state that they appear in TV Advertising as an icons of a moment in time. Today striking miners rather than being seen as harbingers of revolution, are now portrayed as the dying echoes of Britain's "Victorian Dirty Industries". The paper will go on to examine how heritage presentations are being used to reinforce this reworking of history, and discuss how writers have overemphasised aspects of the strike focusing and sections of the coal industry's history while ignoring important information released recently in government papers. The paper will end with a discussion on how this revaluation is seen by some former striking miners and people who live in a former mining community.