Format: Paperback
Published: December 1st, 1994
Age: Adult
Genre: Nonfiction – History – Politics
Rating: 5/5 Stars
We’re now at 40 years since the 1984-85 miners’ strike, and 30 years after the initial publication of The Enemy Within. Reading it now, in 2024, it’s borderline depressing how we’re still feeling the impact of the way things played out around the accusations that Arthur Scargill and NUM associates embezzled money from donations made for the strike. You can also draw parallels with the treatment of others in more recent years, especially Corbyn and the way he’s been demonized by both the Tories and Labour, in a not too dissimilar way that Scargill was.
I’m not a hugely politically-minded person, and if you’re looking for something that’s a bit more casual, I wouldn’t recommend this. It took me a long time to get through this – it’s very dense and information heavy, with a lot of different people involved – and it’s not always the easiest to follow what’s happening and who is who. It’s definitely a book more on the heavy than accessible side. And apologies as I don’t think my review will actually be able to quite do it the justice it deserves!
Still, it’s incredibly valuable and provides a huge insight into the kind of tactics used against the left. It also shows just how far reaching ‘the state’ can be, and what can be done to eliminate perceived enemies. In some ways, it’s kind of terrifying (though not really a surprise) to see how easily things can be manipulated to suit a particular narrative, and how easily so many – especially those with any element of ‘power’ – will go along with it.
If you haven’t read this but do have an interest in politics, I definitely think it’s worth a read. Especially in the aftermath of over a decade of Tory rule, Brexit, the waves of strikes experienced in the last few years, the current Labour position (and the treatment of former leaders), and even more that have impacted the political landscape.
It’s frustrating to read this and realise how much we’ve slipped backwards, but it’s also an incredibly important account of the smear campaign against NUM leaders and the ways in which the ruling class targeted global solidarity efforts to ensure their own power. Again, it’s a dense, heavy read, but one I think is definitely worthwhile.
Reading Challenge
Musicals Reading Challenge 2024
Prompt: Newsies – Seize the Day – about or involving unions and/or workers’ rights
Progress: 24/24 Completed
Unwrapping Words 