150,000 March in London to Protest Mine Cutbacks

The largest mass demonstration in years tied up central London on Sunday as an estimated 150,000 people turned out in support of threatened British miners.

In driving rain, a well-behaved crowd formed behind colliery brass bands parading through the capital in a march that protested not only the government’s announced closure of 31 mines but also the faltering economy.

“In atrocious conditions, the people of Britain have marched and given another message,” Arthur Scargill, president of the National Union of Mineworkers, declared in the day’s main speech at a rally in Hyde Park. “This time, British miners are not just fighting for jobs in the mining industry. Don’t leave us isolated. Support us all the way until we see this policy reversed.”

Scargill charged that Prime Minister John Major’s government regards miners as simply statistics on a computer screen.

“We are not dots,” he said, “we are human beings, and we have a right to work and a right to produce valuable energy for Britain.

“We are marching not just for miners but for health service workers and teachers who are being sacked. Mr. Major has demonstrated he has lost the confidence of this country by ignoring the people. We want the right to work.”

Opposition Labor Party leader John Smith challenged Major to visit the mine pits before agreeing to the mine closures.

And Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown, who also spoke in the downpour at Hyde Park, argued that the government should not close down mines but instead concentrate on creating new jobs and stimulating economic recovery.

The miners’ demonstration came during the worst crisis of Major’s government, reelected only six months ago.

The inept handling of the mines closure--abruptly allowing the government-controlled Coal Board to announce the closure of half the mines in Britain with the loss of 30,000 jobs--caused widespread public outcry.

Major later yielded to public and political opposition and partially rescinded the closure plans.

At the same time, Major has been faced with a revolt among members of Parliament in his own Conservative Party who object to his signing the Treaty of Maastricht, which calls for closer European political and economic union.

Over the weekend, Major tried to lay down the law in a bold but risky move: He suggested that if members of his party defeat the Maastricht Treaty in a coming vote, he might resign, thus forcing new elections.

In the current political climate, it is thought unlikely that the Conservatives could win if they entered a national election so divided.