Mr Matthews, I don’t want to fight this war … We are being forced by your’ and mine’ peers and masters to fight people who could be our neighbours … The working classes of England are being forced to fight and kill the working classes of another country. Days of Hope I: Joining Up; written Jim Allen; directed Ken Loach, BBC 1975
Those who made the war aren’t fighting it; they’re sitting in desks in Whitehall. ibid.
Brain’s too active. That’s what comes of reading too many books. ibid. father
Hasn’t the trade union movement always argued for compulsion of our trade union interests? ibid. trade union official
Sergeant-Major, take these men [pacifists] to the front. ibid. army big knob
I couldn’t agree with you more. But we must honestly look after our selves. Days of Hope II: 1921, union official
A district settlement with miners competing against each other. ibid. Joel to Ben
While this strike lasts you are allowed to breathe. And that’s all you’re allowed to do. ibid. rozzer
So tell me, are things really so bad? ibid. Mr Pritchard
A reduction in wages: there is no alternative. ibid.
The cause of our trouble is the decay of our religious spirit. ibid.
Democracy is based on the rights of property. ibid.
I’m sorry but we’re gonna confiscate this food. ibid. rozzer
You know what’s going to happen after this, don’t you? Victimisation. ibid. striking miner
My concern is the poor misguided people out there. ibid. union official
A miracle. Less than twenty years since its birth, the Labour Party forms a government with Ramsay MacDonald as Prime Minister. Although outnumbered in Parliament by Conservatives and Liberals, Labour is the biggest party. Many feel that the task of legislating socialism into existence can now begin. Days of Hope III: 1924 ***** captions
Perhaps the only thing to do is to scrap the lot, start all over again. ibid. Ben
Organised Labour Supports the Dockers. ibid. Daily Herald headline
I shall open my mouth when I’ve something to say. ibid. Hargreaves MP to neighbouring Tory MP
Things will be different from now on. ibid.
It’s a lot of hard work joining the communist party. ibid. sister to Ben
This union will strike as from February 16th. ibid. meeting
You spoke about legislating capitalism out of existence within the institutional framework ... You really think that the ruling class will sit back and allow itself to be liquidated? ibid. journalist to Hargreaves MP
What I’m saying is that the Cossacks are all around you. ibid.
Josiah Wedgwood to Labour big knob: Doesn’t really matter which party’s in power, a general strike could lead to a Bolshevik-inspired revolution. Neither of us wants that, do we? ibid. journalist reveals Labour leadership’s class-collaboration treachery
Big business holding the purse strings, calling the tune. ibid. Ben to Hargreaves MP
They own the schools, the colleges, the army, the police, what else? Courts, papers … ibid.
1923: More than half the old bosses are members of the communist party. ibid. activists’ discussing Russia
These plans were intact when the Conservatives resumed office a few months later. At no time were Parliament and People informed about them. They were used as the basis of the strike-breaking force of 1926. ibid. captions
1926 General Strike: In 1925 the coal owners decided to reduce the miners’ wages. The miners resisted and other unions stood with them. On 31th July, Prime Minister Baldwin announced a subsidy for nine months while Sir Herbert Samuel held an inquiry into the industry. The Government spent the nine months putting the finishing touches to its plans to confront the miners when the subsidy ran out. The TUC did nothing. The subsidy was to be withdrawn on 30th April 1926, and the miners were to be locked out of the pits unless they accepted reduced wages and longer hours of work. On April 29th, a delegate conference of all unions was called to consider strike action in support of the miners. Days of Hope IV: 1926 General Strike, captions
Churchill and Birkenhead sneering down at us … ibid. Union’ big cheese’ talk
The TUC don’t want this strike. ibid. Tory big cheese’ talk
While I’m on this committee there’s absolutely no chance of any sell-out. ibid. TUC big cheese’ talk
Russia stands like an oasis in the desert. ibid. activist
We should be out there warning people against these bastards not ruddy well telling them to vote for ’em … The working classes learnt more in five days of being on them streets than they would in five years of reading newspapers and pamphlets and voting in the elections, and we’re doing nothing about it. ibid. Ben
The [TUC] Council is on the point of disassociating itself from the miners. ibid. treachery of TUC big knob
They were produced for the press. They were propaganda figures … The men are going back to work, and those numbers are suspect. ibid.
It seems the employers have been given a free hand. ibid. Hargreaves
You’re a social democrat, and social democrats always betray. ibid. Ben to Hargreaves
We did something, and you failed it up. ibid.
The ’80s: The Thatcher-led Tory government rejected the welfare state, nationalisaton and the regulation of finance, and embraced free-market monetarism. Wapping: The Workers’ Story ***** Platform Films 2024
In January 1986 a momentous year-long industrial dispute began when Thatcher ally Rupert Murdoch plotted to move production of his papers overnight from Central London’s Fleet Street to a secretly equipped and heavily guarded at Wapping. ibid.
Those sacked by Murdoch who in their struggle against a ruthless employer came up against the power of the state. ibid.
‘You could barely see one end of the machine room from the other because of all the ink fly and the paper dust.’ ibid. printer
‘Probably more like 15% earned a really good industrial wage.’ ibid.
‘They forget that there’s lots of other people in the buildings.’ ibid.
In 1972 mass industrial action by print workers shut down Fleet Street in support of five dockers jailed under Tory anti-union laws. ibid.
1969: Murdoch buys The Sun and The News of the World. ibid.
1981: Murdoch buys The Times and The Sunday Times. ibid.
1984: Murdoch applies for US citizenship.
‘They [Electricians’ Union members] were being bussed into Wapping and trained on site.’ ibid.
‘There was new technology on The Times and The Mirror but it had always been negotiated.’ ibid.
1986: All agreements and conditions of employment were terminated by News International. The print unions balloted for strike action with a 90% return and 82% in favour. ibid.
‘It wasn’t a strike, it was a lockout.’ ibid.
‘Large numbers of his members [journalists’ union] had voted the other way.’ ibid.
820 clerical workers were involved in the dispute, 47% of them women. ibid.
Picketing took place at Wapping and at Kinning Park in Glasgow where a new plant was secretly developed. Staffed by electricians, The News of the World printed there in January. ibid.
‘They [rozzers] were hate-filled. In the main they bought the Thatcher line completely, the ‘them and us’.’ ibid.
‘In that period none of us had any money whatsoever.’ ibid.
The strikers were sustained by the solidarity of thousands of people in the UK and abroad. ibid.
Picket leader and SOGAT executive member Mike Hicks was convicted of ABH against the police in December. ibid.
The dispute was called off in February 1987. SOGAT cited renewed legal action by the company, and the NGA followed with a similar announcement. ibid.