Why did the Miners' Strike fail?

Why did the Miners' Strike fail?

1. The media were against the strike. Newspapers like the Sun and the Daily Mail did not support the strike. The Sun had a headline called 'Mine Fuhrer' portraying Scargill as a dictator.

2. The government were really well prepared. They stockpiled coal. This meant the miners strike did not lead to a coal shortage. This meant the strike had less impact. The government used police from all over the country so that local police were not sympathising with strikers.

3. Margret Thatcher was a strong leader. She was determined to not allow the miners to win. She portrayed the miners as enemies and called them the 'mob'

4. The NUM did not hold a national ballot. This stopped other trade unions supporting the strike. It made the strike illegal which meant the government portrayed the strike as a violent threat to the rule of law.

5. The Miners used violent tactics. This put people off supporting the strike. For example, a taxi drier was killed when striking miners dropped a concrete block on his taxi. There was a lot of violence at the Battle of Orgreave.

6. The NUM ran out of money. The NUM had to pay a fine of £5 million in September 1984. This was because a law court judged the strike was illegal. This meant the NUM could not continue to support striking miners. The miners became poor and ad to return to work. The government also refused to pay state benefits to striking miners.

7. Arthur Scargill was unpopular. Scargill did not hold a national ballot. The way he acted during the strike was seen as being unreasonable.