And poor Teddy. His 7 to 8 per cent ceiling has plastered him. He must be squirming in his tights, having at last seen the light (excuse the pun). Anytime now he's going to see his precious (undeclared) incomes' policy fade into oblivion as the railwaymen, agricultural workers and others take encouragement from the success of the miners' efforts and stick the boot into poverty. People power OK. Wilberforce let the government off the hook - but not until the garrotting was nearly complete and the wound should keep festering and reopening.

The tactics of the strike were new and effective - in particular the extension of the concept of picketing to the mass picketing of coal supplies and power stations, and the decision not to pay out strike pay, which enabled miners to claim Supplementary Benefits.