Special Miners’ Strike film to be shown at Oxford cinema on May Day

A special film will be shown at an Oxford cinema to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike.

The 2014 documentary, Still the Enemy Within, will be screened at the Ultimate Picture Palace on Cowley Road at 6pm on Wednesday, May 1.

Marking the 40th Anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, May Day was chosen as it is International Workers Day Wednesday.

Film-maker and award-winning journalist Mike Simons will be joined by local councillor and anti-racist campaigner Jabu Nala-Hartley for a discussion about the strike and the film.

The film will be shown at the Ultimate Picture Palace. (Image: Newsquest)

READ MORE: University of Oxford labelled ‘inaccessible’ after £446 event tickets

The film provides a unique insight into one of British history’s most dramatic events: the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike.

Forty years on, this is the raw first-hand experience of those who lived through the UK’s longest strike.

In 1984, a conservative government under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher declared war on the unions, announcing the closure of coal mines.

Against all the forces the government could throw at them, 160,000 coal miners took up the fight and became part of a battle to change the course of history.

The film's focus is on the Miners' Strike. (Image: PA)

READ MORE: Rebekah Vardy's former Oxford United ex jailed for cannabis factory

Owen Gower’s passionate documentary tells the story of a group of miners and supporters who were on the frontline of the strike for an entire year.

These were the people Margaret Thatcher labelled ‘the Enemy Within’.

The Oxford Miners Support Group was quickly set up and led by the Oxford and District Trade Union Council (ODTUC) and worked with the National Union of Miners (NUM) delegation from Maerdy in South Wales, home to the last pit in the Rhondda Valley.

The support group organised collections of food and money, as well as arranging talks and delivering about 25,000 leaflets across the county to garner political support.

Oxford raised more money for the mining communities than any area outside of London, £111,000, including donations from 92 trade union organisations, 45 Labour Party organisations and 29 colleges.

The Miners' Strike. (Image: PA)

READ MORE: Secret pizza shipping container returns after longtime absence

The ODTUC and South Wales Miners also organised mass pickets at Didcot Power station.

Kate Douglas, South East Regional Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union that represents civil servants said:

"Over the past couple of years, tens of thousands of our union members as well as rail workers, teachers, postal workers and health workers have been on strike as every worker was hit by the cost of living crisis. There is so much that we can learn from the Miners' Strike - from the crucial part that women played to how striking workers can build solidarity"

Shaun Doherty from the NEU said: "This film is a timely celebration of the momentous strike that shaped a generation of trade unionists.

“A strike that could have been won with effective solidarity from the wider trade union and labour movement."