LESBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MINERS (LGSM)

 

                                                                    

This is an excerpt from my book in preparation: Lavender Rising: An Intersectional History of the Queer Struggle

5.1 LESBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MINERS

The militant organisation Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) was arguably much more influential in causing change than the well-meaning LGBT religious organisations. Despite all the palaver, many of the churches and parishes in the three main denominations in Scotland were still half-hearted regarding LGBT acceptance over forty years after the secular acceptance implied by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act of 1980. This is, in turn, is one reason why the churches are scorned as irrelevant by much of the truly caring community.

But the LGSM alliance was created to support the National Union of Mineworkers during their year-long strike in 1984 against the dire threats of the ever-evil Thatcher regime (Tate, 2017). By the end of the strike, eleven LGSM groups had emerged in the UK, including a well-organised group in the Lothians.

LGSM was founded by Communist Party activists Mark Ashton and his friends after they collected donations for the miners at the 1984 Lesbian and Pride march in London. See Jackson (c2014a)

The London LGSM group met and fundraised at the Gay’s the Word bookshop, the Fallen Angel in Islington (Lewis, 2016), and numerous other locations. In November 1984, a group of lesbians formed a separate national group, Lesbians against Pit Closures (Jackson, c2014b).

The Lothians LGSM group adopted the Whitecraig (Musselburgh) Strike centre where they gave generous help, e.g. from collections in the Laughing Duck and Key West bars in Central Edinburgh, and organised a Christmas Party for 40 children from five strike centres . They also gave direct help to the miners at Bilston Glen. See Queer Scotland [1] and articles therein entitled Miners thank Gays, and Miners Support Group Gets Strong.

The alliances forged by the campaign between the LGBT community and British labour groups proved to be an important turning point in LGBT history, Miner’s labour groups supported and endorsed various gay pride events throughout the UK, though the LGSM activists faced considerable initial homophobic prejudice from some of the miners who they helped and eventually befriended as they fought the common foe. Block voting support from the National Union of Mineworkers helped the Labour Party to commit their support to LGBT rights at their party conference in Bournemouth in 1985.

Mark Ashton, the gay co-founder of LGSM then became involved in the Red Wedge collective of musicians hoping to oust Thatcher. He also became the General Secretary of the Young Communist League.

Diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, Mark died in February 1987 of Pneumocystis pneumonia. His death prompted enormous response from the LGBT community e.g. at his funeral in Lambeth Cemetery. His legendary life story is described by LGBT Lawyers (2021).

Mark Ashton ranks in history with the American activist Harry Hay as one of the most influential gay communists in the international struggle for LGBT rights. The highly emotive, dead serious, film Pride won the Queer Palm award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival (See British Comedy Film, 2014). The part of Mark Ashton is played by Ben Schnetzer. The only lesbian among the LGSM co-founders, Steph Chambers is played by Faye Marsay. However, George Mackay steals the show as the 20 year old closeted student Joe Cooper.

My flat-mate and I watched a DVD of Pride on 16 March 2023, and we shed tears during the two-hour experience.

The members of LGSM faced considerable initial homophobic prejudice from some of the miners who they helped and eventually befriended as they fought the common foe.

The miners’ groups were among the most outspoken allies of the LGBT community during their fight in 1988 against the horrendous Section 28. It’s worth wondering whether the nasty right wing vehemence in 1988 against the LGBT community was motivated, in part, by the strong LGSM support for the miners.

In Scotland, despite the legality of the 1984 strike, police officers and National Coal Board officials outmanoeuvred the strikers by criminalising and victimising their local leaders (Phillips, 2022), Arrests and relatively innocuous public order convictions were followed by punitive sackings. It was a truly Orwellian 1984, full of the government’s malicious untruths and vicious punishments.

Miners at Monktonhall colliery, near Musselburgh, and Bilston Glen, near Loanhead, joined thousands of others across the UK in walking out after the National Coal Board announced plans in March 1984 for 20 mines to close with the loss of 20,000 jobs. Bilston Glen became the centre for regular battles between policed and miners. The pit, which once employed more than 2000 people, was finally shut in 1989.

A year of sacrifice, bitterness and despair for Lothian's miners began on Monday March 12 1984 when mass pickets prevented any working at Bilston Glen and Monktonhall collieries.(Scotland’s Pages [1]) The start of the dispute over pit closures and job losses had begun - but it also signalled the start of some of the ugliest scenes at Lothian's pits. Tempers flared as 370 men tried to cross the picket line to clock on the morning shift. Flying pickets from other pits turned up in force and so began the first ugly scuffles as police and pickets clashed.

Lewis and various authors (2015) describe more past and recent stories about LGSM and Lesbians against Pit Closures. They are truly inspiring.. 

Tim Tate (2017) Pride:The Unlikely Story of the True Heroes of the Miner's Strike

London: John Blake Publishing

Mike Jackson (c2014a) About LGSM (LGSM) http://lgsm.org/about-lgsm

Accessed 17 February 2023

Dave Lewis (2016) Yes, Gay is Indeed The Word (LGSM News)

http://lgsm.org/news/273-yes-gay-is-indeed-the-word Accessed 17 February 2023

Mike Jackson (c2014b) Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM)

http://lgsm.org/our-history/228-lesbians-and-gays-support-the-miners Accessed 17

February 2023

Queer Scotland [1] LGSM in Scotland https://queerscotland.com/lgsm-in-scotland/ Accessed 17 February 2023

LGBT Lawyers (2021). Mark Ashton: The Life and Legacy of an LGBT Legend

https://lgbtlawyers.co.uk/2021/02/23/mark-ashton-life-and-legacy/

British Comedy Film (2014) Pride https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/pride/ Accessed 17 February 2023

Jim Phillips (2022) Strategic Injustice and the 1984–85 Miners’ Strike in Scotland

(Industrial Law Journal) https://academic.oup.com/ilj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/indlaw/dwac017/6677616

Accessed 17 February 2023

Scotland’s Pages [1] 1984-5: Miner’s Strike https://digital.nls.uk/scotlandspages/timeline/1984.html Accessed 17 February 2023

Dave Lewis and various authors (2015) Important Statement on the Future of LGSM (LGSM Our History) http://lgsm.org/our-history (Then click on Our Story)Accessed 18 June 2023