ABSTRACT
The two national coal strikes of 1972 and 1974 were pivotal events for British politics but are different in character. The 1972 dispute was the culmination of the events analysed in the last chapter which encouraged the emergence of a new leadership stratum amalgamating elements from the 'old' and 'new' lefts in alliance with a new national leadership who recognised that the events of 1969-70 contained the seeds of a serious split unless the NUM could be speedily re-integrated. This conjunction could not have taken place unless there were real grievances to energise and mobilise the mineworkers and in 1972 and 1974 that issue was pay.
