Arthur Scargill

Arthur Scargill
Leader of the Socialist Labour Party
In office 24 June 1996 – 2024
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Jim McDaid
President of the National Union of Mineworkers
In office 1982–2002
Preceded by	Joe Gormley
Succeeded by	Ian Lavery
President of the Yorkshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers
In office 1974–1981
Preceded by	Sam Bullough
Succeeded by	Jack Taylor
Personal details
Born	(1938-01-11) 11 January 1938 (age 86) Worsbrough Dale, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Political party	Socialist Labour Party (1996–present)
Other political affiliations	Labour Party (1962–1996)
Spouse	Anne Harper ​ ​ (m. 1961; div. 2001)​

Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938)^[1] is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, a major event in the history of the British labour movement.

Joining the NUM at the age of 19 in 1957, Scargill was one of its leading activists by the late 1960s. He led an unofficial strike in 1969, and played a key organising role during the strikes of 1972 and 1974, the latter of which played a part in the downfall of Edward Heath's Conservative government.

Thereafter Scargill led the NUM through the 1984–1985 miners' strike. It turned into a confrontation with the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in which the miners' union was defeated. Initially a Young Communist League member, then a Labour Party member, Scargill is now deputy leader of the Socialist Labour Party (SLP), having founded the party in 1996 and served as its leader from the party's foundation until 2024.