All too often miners, and indeed other trade unionists, underestimate the economic strength they have.

I have never been an idealist - that implies you aren't going to achieve something.

Yet what you need is not marches, demonstrations, rallies or wide associations, all of them are important. What you need is direct action. The sooner people understand that, the sooner we'll begin to change things.

You may see the emergence of a new political party from the body of the trade union movement which represents a very clear-cut socialist alternative policy and which gives expression to the views of the trade union movement in parliament.

The trade unions and the Labour Party... failed miserably. Instead of giving concrete support, and calling upon workers to take industrial action, they did nothing.

If youve got an industry where youve got massive investment, it doesnt matter whether you bring in alternative supplies. You still lose the money on that industry.

There's a feeling that strength is determined by the size of a union. That clearly is nonsense.