'Scargill was outmanoeuvered but I believe was trying to do his best for his members, trying to prevent them from being oppressed and dispossessed by the government. And lo! looking now at UK mining he was right all along.'

His member were all part of a larger society, and it did his members no favours if that society went down the toilet.

To persist with inflationary wage claims dealt a terrible blow to the disabled and poorer members of society. The first measure Thatcher took was to abandon index linked benfits - so Arthur's inflationary tactic (under the promised free collective bargaining promise of Lady T) meant in real terms a 30% cut in benefits.

Both of them were a couple of absolute buggers.