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| Thatcher Considered Using Military During 1984 Miners’ Strike | Thatcher Considered Using Military During 1984 Miners’ Strike |
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| LONDON — As striking miners challenged her grip on power in 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher secretly considered calling out the British military to transport vital supplies of food and coal around the country and declaring a state of emergency to bolster the government in one of the defining confrontations of her tumultuous years in office, according to previously classified documents released on Friday. | LONDON — As striking miners challenged her grip on power in 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher secretly considered calling out the British military to transport vital supplies of food and coal around the country and declaring a state of emergency to bolster the government in one of the defining confrontations of her tumultuous years in office, according to previously classified documents released on Friday. |
| The government papers, released by the National Archives, cast new light on an era that shaped Britain for decades, crushing the power of labor unions and establishing an ideological reverence for market forces that has endured through successive Labour and Conservative governments. | |
| In 1984, by contrast, Mrs. Thatcher, who died last April at age 87, faced a militant union movement that threatened to bring the country to a halt as dock workers seemed poised to support striking coal miners who clashed frequently with the police along the picket lines. | In 1984, by contrast, Mrs. Thatcher, who died last April at age 87, faced a militant union movement that threatened to bring the country to a halt as dock workers seemed poised to support striking coal miners who clashed frequently with the police along the picket lines. |
| The miners’ leader, Arthur Scargill, declared the strike to be a “social and industrial Battle of Britain,” evoking the epic contest with Nazi Germany in World War II. At the same time, Mrs. Thatcher’s Conservative government saw the strike, which began in March 1984, as an opportunity to break militant unions once and for all. | The miners’ leader, Arthur Scargill, declared the strike to be a “social and industrial Battle of Britain,” evoking the epic contest with Nazi Germany in World War II. At the same time, Mrs. Thatcher’s Conservative government saw the strike, which began in March 1984, as an opportunity to break militant unions once and for all. |
| “The Left’s aim is to pave the way for the ultimate defeat of the government by destroying its policies and its credibility,” John Redwood, a policy adviser to Mrs. Thatcher who has survived as an emblem of the Conservative right, said in one of the documents released on Friday. | “The Left’s aim is to pave the way for the ultimate defeat of the government by destroying its policies and its credibility,” John Redwood, a policy adviser to Mrs. Thatcher who has survived as an emblem of the Conservative right, said in one of the documents released on Friday. |
| On July 16, 1984, the papers showed, Mrs. Thatcher met her most senior cabinet ministers to debate the possibility of declaring a state of emergency and using the military to transport coal and food. One estimate that 2,800 troops would be able to move 1,000 tons of supplies a day using 50 trucks was deemed to be “far too low” to meet the needs of the emergency, according to a record of the meeting. | On July 16, 1984, the papers showed, Mrs. Thatcher met her most senior cabinet ministers to debate the possibility of declaring a state of emergency and using the military to transport coal and food. One estimate that 2,800 troops would be able to move 1,000 tons of supplies a day using 50 trucks was deemed to be “far too low” to meet the needs of the emergency, according to a record of the meeting. |
| Moreover, Britain’s leaders displayed a degree of edginess about taking such dramatic measures, fearful that such action could deepen the crisis. | Moreover, Britain’s leaders displayed a degree of edginess about taking such dramatic measures, fearful that such action could deepen the crisis. |
| “It was not clear how far a declaration of a state of emergency would be interpreted as a sign of weakness, nor to what extend it would increase docker support for the miners’ strike,” the record of the meeting said. The dockers, however, ended their strike after only three days. | “It was not clear how far a declaration of a state of emergency would be interpreted as a sign of weakness, nor to what extend it would increase docker support for the miners’ strike,” the record of the meeting said. The dockers, however, ended their strike after only three days. |
| Despite that, the Defense Ministry continued to consider plans for 4,500 troops and around 1,650 trucks to keep coal supplies moving. Coal was crucial to Britain’s electric power industry, and the government had been stockpiling coal supplies since 1981 in anticipation of a confrontation with miners. | |
| Norman Tebbit, another senior adviser to Mrs. Thatcher, warned on July 25 that coal stocks would run out around six months later. “My concern is that, on our present course, I do not see that time is on our side,” he said. | Norman Tebbit, another senior adviser to Mrs. Thatcher, warned on July 25 that coal stocks would run out around six months later. “My concern is that, on our present course, I do not see that time is on our side,” he said. |
| Mrs. Thatcher refused to compromise and by November 1984, the miners had begun to return to work, heralding what was seen as a crushing defeat for them and a major victory for Mrs. Thatcher, whose resolve earned her the sobriquet “the Iron Lady.” | Mrs. Thatcher refused to compromise and by November 1984, the miners had begun to return to work, heralding what was seen as a crushing defeat for them and a major victory for Mrs. Thatcher, whose resolve earned her the sobriquet “the Iron Lady.” |
| Other documents from the era released on Friday also gave insight on the background of an episode on April 17, 1984, when a police constable, Yvonne Fletcher, was shot dead outside the Libyan Embassy in London, then known as a “People’s Bureau,” when someone inside opened fire on demonstrators outside. | |
| Libya, led in those days by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, twice warned the British Foreign Office of the risk of violence if the protests went ahead. | Libya, led in those days by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, twice warned the British Foreign Office of the risk of violence if the protests went ahead. |
| In messages delivered in Tripoli and London, Libyan officials said they would not be held responsible if violence broke out. But British officials apparently regarded the threats as what one Foreign Office official called “a standard Libyan line: We did not regard it as particularly significant at the time.” | |
| No charges were ever brought in the killing of Ms. Fletcher. Embassy staff members, including a man suspected of firing the shots, claimed diplomatic immunity and were deported. The shots were fired from an upper-floor balcony at a crowd of demonstrators protesting against Colonel Qaddafi’s rule. In 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron said he had won Libya’s agreement for Scotland Yard detectives to conduct an investigation in Libya into the killing. |