Dave Douglass reviews Steve McGrail and Vicky Patterson’s Cowie miners, Polmaise colliery and the 1984-85 miners’ strike. COWIE MINERS, POLMAISE COLLIERY AND THE 1984-85 MINERS’ STRIKE Great Strike of 1984-85: an unequal battle Polmaise was at the epicentre of the Scottish miners’ action in 1984. Like Cortonwood it was among ‘the first of the first’…
DURHAM MINERS’ GALA – BIG MEETING GETS BIGGER
The 133rd Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday 8th July will see some 150,000 march through the ancient city. Dave Douglass, ex-miner and author of Stardust and Coaldust autobiographical trilogy looks at its history and the ongoing significance. BIG MEETING GETS BIGGER A day of looking back and looking forward Crowds are now back to…
DAVID HOPPER AND THE DURHAM MINERS GALA
David Hopper died on July 16th. He was the General Secretary of the Durham Miners Association and last spoke on Saturday July 9th at the Durham Miners Gala. This was attended by 150,000 people. David Hopper was central to the revival of this major working class political and social event, after the defeat of the…
David Douglass reviews – Adrian Kerr, ‘Free Derry: protest and resistance’.
Adrian Kerr, Free Derry – protest and resistance, Guildhall Press, 2013, pp. 224, £11.95 From the declaration of ‘Free Derry’ on August 9 1971, when the solidly working class and republican community seized control of their own area of the city of Londonderry, to the time of the Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire in 1994, the…
Dave Douglass Reviews Gregor Gall’s ‘Tommy Sheridan, From Hero To Zero?’
Tommy Sheridan, From Hero To Zero? – A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY Welsh Academic Press, 2012, pp384, £25 Tommy and Gail Sheridan: a giant conspiracy? Given the still raw emotions, ongoing political bitterness and entrenched sectarian positions around Tommy Sheridan, this is a remarkably objective and balanced work. It is also extremely well written and presented. The…
The debate continues: The Jacobites strike back
Below we publish a contributions to the debate on the Scottish revolution from Dave Douglass (NUM, South Yorks.) This will be followed by another from and Donald Anderson (SRSM platform in the SSP) defend Jacobitism. In our next issue Neil Davidson (Socialist Worker Platform) will be making a further contribution to the debate. Provocative and…