2007-04-02 00:13:08 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Decimating means to remove 1 in 10. It was an old Roman punishment for a legion which had done something wrong - each 10th man was killed by the man standing beside him. Therefore, it is wrong to suggest Mrs. Thatcher 'decimated' the coal industry. She threw far more than 1 in 10 miners on the scrap heap. But the BBC carried a news item this morning that a pit, closed under Thatcher, is to re-open and a large new coal fired power station built beside it. We still get 40% of our energy needs from coal, far more than from any other kind of fuel. So, perhaps, the NUM are having the last laugh.
2007-04-02 01:58:23 · answer #1 · answered by rdenig_male 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Baroness Thatcher did not decimate the coal industry. The main perpetrator of that little debacle is actually the N.U.M.
The leaders were uninformed narrow minded bigots who did not care one jot for the rank and file members.
The wonderful Mrs Thatcher was hardly likely to give in to a bunch of rabble-rousers intent on bringing the country to it's knees. Give the lady some credit and don't be so disrespectful.
2007-04-02 09:46:32 · answer #2 · answered by nemesis 5 · 4⤊ 2⤋
you mean the fact if they did strike for so long(18mths) leaving the mines to go beyond repair, dont you. If the pickets allowed engineers in to maintain the mines, equipment, water pumps etc, then not all of them would have shut.
The miners / NUM were misled by Scargill that they could win and risked it all. And Lost.
They could have shut the costly ones, got rid of the union rules and worked in the modern world but they wanted to stay in the 70's. their loss.
The police were the only winners, who got their mortgages paid off by the extreme overtime they put in covering the strikes and riots. More fool the NUM!!
It is the famalies, especially the kids of those miners who really lost out in the long term when their parents went on strike.
2007-04-02 07:16:53 · answer #3 · answered by dsclimb1 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I didnt realize the NUM were still around I thought she did the job right and decimated them as well.
2007-04-02 07:30:12 · answer #4 · answered by frankturk50 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Nope, nor will most of the Unions ever forgive Thatcher or Blair for his turn around on Union Law.
2007-04-02 07:28:50 · answer #5 · answered by Kevan M 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
they brought it on themselves with Mr Scargill at the helm. all thatcher did was to hold back the unions and she did a good job of that , but we are still feeling the effects those years had on this once dear country even now
2007-04-02 07:19:21 · answer #6 · answered by srracvuee 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
when the oil runs out none of us will forgive her.
2007-04-02 07:17:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
This is a non-question, you have been reported.
2007-04-02 08:03:12 · answer #8 · answered by A True Gentleman 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋