The Mining Community

Context 

During the strike, the Thatcher administration sequestered the funds of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), meaning that it was pointless for supporters of the strike to send donations to the national union. Instead, support groups throughout the UK were encouraged to "twin" directly with the various mining communities in England, Scotland and Wales. Among these organizations, the LGSM was formed by Mark Ashton and his friend Michael Jackson, after the two men collected donations for the miners at the 1984 Lesbian and Gay Pride march in London. LGSM was called forth to aid the Swansea Valleys, Dulais and Neath miner support groups. The group broke off into Lesbians Against Pit Closures (LAPC) in November 1984, but combined, they raised over £20,000 for Welsh Mining families. The biggest event held by LGSM was the 'Pits and Perverts' benefit concert, which was held in the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town on December 10th 1984. The event's headliner being Bronski Beat and their lead singer being Jimmy Somerville. The Miners were amongst the most outspoken allies of the LGBT community during the campaign against Section 28 during 1988. 

LGSM in the film Pride, were assigned to the Dulais mining community in South Wales; and much like the miners in the real world, they were initially reluctant to accept money off of LGSM, partly due to their negative publicity as an LGBT cause. Most of the mining community are depicted as stodgy old people; and while most of them still wind up unashamedly partying at a gay bar, a few retain the stereotypes we as an audience expect from the old-fashioned Welsh.   

The miners' strike of 1984–85 was a major industrial action to shut down the British coal industry in an attempt to prevent colliery closures. It was led by Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) against the National Coal Board (NCB), a government agency. Opposition to the strike was led by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who called Scargill "the enemy within."  Trade unions supported the NUM, primarily because of the absence of a vote at national level. Violent confrontations between flying pickets and police characterized the year-long strike, which ended in a decisive victory for the Conservative government and led to the closure of most of Britain's collieries. It was "the most bitter industrial dispute in British history." 

The strike was ruled illegal in September 1984, as no national ballot had been held. It ended on 3 March 1985. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, the NUM's defeat significantly weakening the trade union movement. It was a major victory for Thatcher and the Conservative Party, with the Thatcher government able to consolidate their economically liberal programme. The number of strikes fell sharply in 1985 as a result of the "demonstration effect" and trade union power in general became diminished. Three deaths resulted from events related to the strike. 

The much-reduced coal industry was privatized in December 1994, ultimately becoming UK Coal. In 1983, Britain had 174 working pits, but by 2009 there were only six. Poverty increased in former coal mining areas, and in 1994 Grimethorpe in South Yorkshire was the poorest settlement in the country.