A DETERMINED and swelling column of over 3000 marched through St Helens in Lancashire last Saturday led by the Bold colliery band and 250 miner's kids carrying placards proclaiming 'sack Maggie, not daddie!' There were solid contingents the Lancashire pits, backed Northumberland 'Zulus' (flying pickets). A sea of red nanters Drocenc support from Labour Parties, Wives Support Groups, wood Peace camp alle there was a Labour Party campaign bus.
Speakers at the rally included Derek Hatton from Liverpool Council who called for the unity in struggle of the council and the neva Coombes from Keva the threatened Merseyside Met County said they would not rations the police operations: chief constable is going ofi on a frolic of his own, we won't pay , he said Bev Potter spoke for women the mining areas «CObIs the FRED Bilocerhowicz from Agecroft colliery is one of the very small number of miners on strike at the pit. He's been out since week government for cutting social security by f15 for strikers. She said they were trying to starve the miners back to work, but 'they didn't count on the women organising'.
Dennis Skinner appealed for a long term view. 'It there's too much coal, let's have retirement at 55 and a 35 hour week' , he said. He appealed to COULILY authorities: 'Don't pay a penny piece for Thatcher's political army, let her pay herself. This strike isn't about ballots, it's not about heavy picketing, it's about them and us.
Peter Heathfield, stressing this was already the longest national dispute since 1926, said "Macuregor has said 20,000 jobs and 20 pits are but he claims his door is always open. It's not his door I'm worried about, it's his Other speakers includ ed leaders of the LanCarradine era Harry the Seamen's Tony Mulhearn Liverpool Council At the rally we spoke to some of the miners and DENISE Harrison, Bold miners' wives action group WE'RE trying to get col money. All money is being lections TOC( turned into TOOOR OIner wise we get the social on our backs.
We're supplying all miners their wives with a food parcel. We've also set up a plav group to. the young children so that the wives can get involved in supporting the strike.
Up to now we're getting quite a lot of support, for Wee weeken ore for two weeks.
mainly trying to do the same as the men have been doing. But we're doing it for the women There are 40 to 50 of us involved. And we' re pro ducing a mass leaflet and weekly broadsheet of what we're doing to go to every wife and girlfriend. WUHiICI from the mining communities about the dispute.