Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
THREE years ago this month, the 2016 Tory home secretary Amber Rudd refused to establish an inquiry into one of the most violent assaults by police on workers during an industrial dispute in Britain.
She believed there was no sufficient basis for an Orgreave inquiry, because she felt that there was no miscarriage of justice, there was nothing new for the police to learn, it was a long time ago and nobody died at Orgreave.
The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) continues with its commitment to the fight for truth and justice and a public inquiry into the policing of miners picketing the Orgreave coking plant on June 18 1984 during the miners’ strike.
A past confrontation permanently shaped the methods the state will use to protect employers against any claims by their employees, writes MATT WRACK, but unions are readying to face the challenge
KIM JOHNSON MP places the campaign in the context of the history of the working-class battles of the 1980s, and explains why, just like Orgreave and the Shrewsbury Pickets before it, justice today is so important for the struggles of tomorrow
The Home Secretary’s recent letter suggests the Labour government may finally deliver on its nine-year manifesto commitment, writes KATE FLANNERY, but we must move quickly: as recently as 2024 Northumbria police destroyed miners’ strike documents


