We shall never know what would have really happened without Thatcherism though will we, Nigel. We do know that with it whole communities were decimated, workers rights were destroyed and the gap between rich and poor started to skyrocket. Funnily enough, I agree that the NUM had become too powerful for it's own good. What I disagree with is that it was a simple binary choice between destroying them or damaging the economy. There could have been a compromise but, as in your 'other option', we will never know!