- Worth a repeat: Falconer under fire over role in miners' strike Archived Message
Posted by walter
on June 30, 2019, 10:58 pm, in reply to "Nice Offguard article on AS - with superb comments from Bevin:"
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Pity this wasn't known in 1997 - Falconer was never a friend of the working class, undermining the NUM in 1984 by helping the Thatcher government create the breakaway UDM while advising them to keep quiet about it. Now he is on TV (in the link provided by Atzmon, using his 'Labour' credentials to undermine Corbyn by reading from a script he doesn't even seem to understand. Falconer under fire over role in miners' strike Eleven Labour MPs yesterday attacked Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor, for legal advice he gave more than 20 years ago to break up the National Union of Mineworkers in the aftermath of the miners strike. The MPs launched the attack after the Guardian revealed on Monday Lord Falconer's role in the dispute following the release of secret documents to the paper by National Archives under the Freedom of Information Act. A parliamentary motion signed by the 11 - many representing mining or former mining seats - say they are "gravely disappointed to learn" about Lord Falconer's role in advising the then National Coal Board chairman, Sir Ian MacGregor, during the bitter strike which split the Labour movement. Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you Read more At the time Lord Falconer, a Labour party member, was a young barrister and close friend of Tony Blair who had just been elected as an MP. The dispute became a year long struggle between the Thatcher government and Arthur Scargill, the militant miners' leader, and foreshadowed the decimation of the industry. Michael Clapham, MP for Barnsley West and the NUM's legal officer at the time, said yesterday: "I realised when I saw the dates of the documents in your paper that Lord Falconer's advice came just a few days before the union was informed that British Coal was ending the important industry conciliation scheme - effectively tearing up 40 years of agreements covering disputes. "This was done so they could recognise the breakaway Union of Democratic Mineworkers - even though at the time it did not officially exist - and negotiate an inferior deal." The papers show that Lord Falconer was a junior barrister advising the coal board on how it could open negotiations with the fledgling union whose working members in Nottinghamshire had broken away from the NUM. His advice was backed by Peter Walker, then energy secretary, who was keen to break up the NUM. The MPs are calling on Lord Falconer to make a statement about his previous role which they say led " to a worsening of the terms and conditions of all UK coalminers." MPs supporting the motion include Dennis Skinner, Bolsover; Colin Burgon, Elmet; David Anderson, Blaydon; and John Cummings, Easington. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/may/20/uk.freedomofinformation Minutes of a private conference between the NCB and Mr Falconer and another barrister show that the barristers stressed it was "fundamental that the Lynk union was not seen to be an [NCB] creation. They considered that the ultimate risk was an action by the national union [NUM] against the board ... it was even more imperative that, if there was any doubt as to whether the Nottingham union was still part of the national union, the board should not be seen to be negotiating with it". https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/may/16/uk.freedomofinformation2 |