Arthur Scargill Quotes
For the first time we are facing the prospect of seeing legislation introduced which denies the right of trade unionists to come to the assistance of other unionists and denies the right of trade unionists to seek the support of others in their disputes. There is only one response. Faced with this legislation we should say we will defy the law. It is the only action we can take and it is the only response this movement can give. If there is an attempt to use this legislation then you defy it not as an individual union but as a movement.
For the opposite point of view, see {628141}.
Arthur Scargill, British leader of the National Union of Mineworkers, Founder and Leader of the Socialist Labour Party,, Speech to the Trades Union Congress at Brighton on the Employment Act 1982, September 7, 1982
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Baron Chapple of Hoxton. For the opposite point of view, see {628142}.
The unions that broke off were very successful at increasing union membership and made large efforts at organizing. The others were losing members for the most part and devoted most of their resources to politics to protect what they had.
This was a great victory for the Victor Berger wing of the party. They purged the violence advocates and communists from the party. Despite this, a few right wingers call any socialist a communist and a revolutionary.
- Born: January 11, 1938
- Nationality: British
- Profession: Former Coal Miner, Former General Secretary National Union Mineworkers, Leader Socialist Labour Party
Arthur Scargill is a British trade unionist. He was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. Joining the NUM at the age of nineteen in 1957, he became one of its leading activists in the late 1960s. He led an unofficial strike in 1969, and played a key organising role during the strikes of 1972 and 1974, the latter of which helped in the downfall of Edward Heath's Conservative government.
