[THE miners should be given every possible support…]

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THE miners should be given every possible support. They are defending not only their jobs and their industry, but in a sense they are defending the entire working class trade union movement, because they have the power and the strength to do it.

By their efforts they are also helping to combat the government's policies against trade unions and their industrial relations legislation. The entire movement has to give them every DossiDe backing.

It is very interesting how much the press recognises this and have for example, encouraged miners' wives to come out against them going on strike and so on.

I think this is a crunch situation as far as the miners are concerned. If the miners don't come out of this successfully it could be disastrous not only for their future but for the entire trade union movement.

The miners have been very generous to the Labour Party over the years. Their union has been one of the staunchest supporters of the Labour Party.

How practically can we help the miners? Well we shouldn't do anything without the miners themselves wanting us to do it.

But if the miners want us to give them facilities in areas, whether it is the use of our rooms, helping in the propaganda, whatever it is we ought to be prepared to give it.

If the miners come up against the anti-union legislation, although the government may not be too happy to push their legislation against the miners, I would hope that the miners would respond in a totally positive way.

I was oniy sorry to see the divisions in the movement in the past. The movement has learnt something. There were some who took the view that we ought not to break Tory legislation, or at the very least were half-hearted about it.