40 Years On
Just forty years on from the Iron Lady
Disavowing coal. Deep in the shadow
Of abundant stockpiles, the wealth below
Was to be forfeited for a shady
Deal between politics and capital,
Anathema of organised labour
Had to be vanquished, by setting neighbour
Against neighbour if at all possible,
Coalfield against coalfield, trade against trade.
Solidarity undermined, derided.
By keeping the working class divided,
The very notion of class was gainsaid.
Coal mines and the Iron Lady are long gone,
Yet nothing’s been resolved forty years on.
D. A.