the miners’ film

1974/5, 49 minutes 16mm film/DVD

The miners’ film documents the industrial action by miners in the winter of 1973-4 which helped to bring down Edward Heath’s Tory government. The strike is seen as part of the successful opposition against Phase 3 of the government’s income policy. The film charts this crisis from inside the labour movement, but also reflects the miners’ historical and political understanding of it, informed by memories of the 1926 General Strike and analysis of the failures of nationalisation and more recent energy and employment policies.