The Impact of Propaganda on the Coal Strike in Britain

"a raving, tearing Communist". J H Thomas also criticized the miners saying they were not proper trade unionists and did not care about the rest of the movement. The strike began in earnest on Sunday when Winston Churchill instigated the Daily Mail incident. He visited the editor who readily published an anti-union editorial.

The London print workers refused to print a particular content, which was fine with the state. This incident highlighted the supposed suppression of free speech. Churchill played an active role in editing a government paper known as the British Gazette throughout the strike. The paper's circulation grew from 500,000 on 5th May to 2.25 million by the 12th. During the General Strike, the BBC indiscriminately broadcasted false information as propaganda. However, neither the propaganda of the British Gazette nor that of the BBC affected the strikers significantly.

Despite being considered a significant achievement, the General Strike was ultimately quashed by TUC executives. The strike saw participation from approximately 1.5 to 2 million employees, which constituted a substantial portion of the overall workforce of 11.8 million individuals. Unfortunately, TUC leaders' choice to divide the industry into five distinct sectors - namely Transportation, Printing, and Iron/Steel/Chemicals - turned out to be a crucial error that enabled them to effectively undermine the strike.

(4) The construction category and (5) the Electricity and Gas category would be introduced gradually, one after the other, instead of overwhelming the system with everything on the first day. This caused confusion in areas where trades intersected, leading some workers to ignore TUC directives and adopt a 'come out if in doubt' policy. Despite this, the TUC's actions ultimately caused confusion and brought

an end to the strike.

As the strike drew to a close, there were still individuals who remained upset, resulting in heightened security measures. A 'Council of Action' or 'Strike Committee' emerged in each city, typically composed of Trades Council members, which issued permits for the transportation of food. Numerous roads were blockaded, and nearly all railway services ceased operations. The government attempted to maintain transportation by employing scab buses operated by Oxbridge students or members of the Plus Four Brigade (Plus Four - Minus Conscience). These buses featured barbed wire surrounding the engine and police escorts seated near the driver in an attempt to dissuade attacks.

The attempt of amateurs to run trains resulted in four deaths and 35 injuries. To avoid the devastating impact of the general strike on Britain, it was crucial for the government to use propaganda and bring it to an early end. The miners' strike led workers from other industries to join, causing a halt in goods production for export and significant financial losses. Although not ideal, the government's actions prevented tremendous suffering for Britain.