THE "Enemy Within" was the greatest insult ever given to a group of workers in this country and one that will continue to be rejected by miners, former miners and their coalfield communities.
The mining industry fuelled an industrial revolution and two world wars and most miners, well those I knew were very patriotic; so it was with shock and dismay when Prime Minister Thatcher used those words against us.
Not only did she seek to destroy our jobs and communities but our very soul and the dignity that had served us throughout the years while doing a very dirty and dangerous job.
The allegation that Margaret Thatcher divided mining communities and a nation was not a by-product of an extremely insensitive policy to close so called uneconomic pits – but a policy in its own right to rule by division at any cost.
It was a myth to say that the mines were uneconomic, yes we were subsidised but far less than other mines across the globe.
So it is now with hundreds of years of coal left underground that we find ourselves in a fuel crisis and hostage to unstable former Eastern block countries for gas and unstable Middle East oil.
It is however the personal price that miners and there communities paid for her catastrophic policies that hurts me more than anything else.
Having to watch communities that were once thriving and self policing in the grip of crime and antisocial behaviour.
Words like heroin and housing benefit were as uncommon to our vocabulary as England winning the World Cup again.
As a councillor in the 90s the vast majority of my casework had a direct connection to the Thatcher policies of the 80s. However the worst thing for me and many of my mates was having to attend the funerals of men who had "given up" on life years before their time. Are we to "forgive and forget?" I believe many have, but for those who haven't there is no option if we are to move on.
When a life is lost it can only be sad. The time for celebration is not now but was when she left office.
However look what followed. John Major a so called moderate closed just as many mines if not more than his predecessor.
If there is one thing that a time of reflection can achieve is to learn the lessons of our actions and ensure that we never enter a period of desperation and division like thosr of the 1980s.
