‘Is that who I think it is?’ Arthur Scargill joins rail picket line in Sheffield
“I will never stop fighting … You must be joking?” said Arthur Scargill as he joined striking railway workers on the picket line in Sheffield.
The former leader of the National Union of Mineworkers is 84 and maybe not as nimble on his feet as he once was, but the fire in his belly would seem not to have died down. Nor have his opinions mellowed.
“I’ve nothing but utter contempt for the leadership of the Labour party, particularly [Keir] Starmer,” Scargill said in response to a question on Labour’s attitude towards this week’s strikes. “Quite frankly, the Labour party has blown it completely. It does not represent the working class of this country.”
Scargill joined the picket line wearing the same cap he wore when he was arrested at Orgreave coking plant 38 years ago during the miners’ strike. Then he was escorted away by police and later found guilty of two charges of obstruction and fined £250.
His visit on a sunny Thursday morning to Sheffield train station was much more relaxed. It was unannounced and warmly welcomed, although most of the looks were along the lines of: “Is that who I think it is?”
Scargill was joined by his 21-year-old grandson Thomas Logan, who hopes to also have a future role in the trade union movement. Scargill joked his grandson was more militant than he was.
“He is just like any normal granddad,” said Logan. “A bit more opinionated maybe. He’s tried to influence me from an early age and he has succeeded. It’s his storytelling, which strikes the flame in you … he does it well.”
Scargill was president of the NUM for 20 years, leading the miners to a defeat in the 1984-85 strike, which marked a turning point in postwar history. After stepping down as union leader he became something of a recluse as he
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