ABSTRACT
The spectacular political events surrounding the 1974 strike have obscured the importance of 1972. The strike demonstrated that despite the numerical decline of the miners the National Union of Mine-workers was able to cause massive disruption by halting the production and distribution of coal. With the movement of coal halted, the pickets now concentrated on stopping the movement of kindling oil and other supplies into power stations. The Special Conference unanimously approved the overtime ban from 1st November and confirmed a ballot. The overtime ban was of pivotal importance to the NEC’s strategy. The strike began in an atmosphere of bitterness in the mining communities and the Yorkshire Area Council greeted the strike with jubilation. The NEC accepted the Wilberforce Report, though there were some fears of a militant ‘blacklash1, the coalfields accepted, and on 22 February picketing ended.
