Few commentators or the general public, for that matter, would detract from the view that the mid-1980s constitute one of the darkest times in modern Britain. This was the recurrent theme of 1984/85 A SYMPOSIUM OF ART & POLITICS at York St John University. The scene was powerfully set by the distinguished writer, Andrew McMillan. As McMillan argued, ‘In contradiction to the popular sentiment, it’s not so much that history repeats itself, it’s that it crushes on, relentlessly’ (From Pity, (2024, Canongate). Some four decades after the bloody battles at Orgreave in South Yorkshire, this conference explored the legacy of 1984.
The result was a poignant view of the conflict between reactionary forces such as Thatcher in Britain and Reagan in America, the disappointing “let-down” the French-left experienced during Mitterrand’s Presidency, and the “ups and downs” of social forces in Morocco and elsewhere. The presentations showed how far British and international experience yielded comparisons in working-class experience. Wherever in the world one was in 1984, it was not a good time for the working-class. These years of social struggles constituted a dark history in which hard-won efforts by social radicals (such as strikers, the women’s movement, LGBTQ+ campaigners, eco-socialists etc.) were achieved only against a repressive economic and social environment.
The docu-film, Battle of Orgreave (2001) described the miner’s strike of 1984/85 as an economic ‘crossroads’ in which the miners were unfairly named by Thatcher as the ‘enemy within’. The wrench this period drove into British society encouraged the rise of right-wing populism and racism. Against this context the conference probed what Achille Mbembe (2024) calls “our brutalist age”, where ‘contemporary capitalism crushes and dominates all spheres of existence’ (2024). In his keynote, Andrew McMillan pondered the language we have available to us to consider the past and how we might find new ways forward. This was followed by the film, “In the Veins” (prod. Graham Relton, ed. Andy Burns) which explores archive footage to shine a light onto the face of the mining heritage of Yorkshire and the North East of England.
Artist Dr Nicky Bird then described how ‘When the miners returned to work in March ’85, that was when my battle started’ in a photographic campaign which evocatively portrayed the lives of sacked miners and their families; such as in his photo-based project Mineworking, 2023-24, originally inspired by images of Scottish mineworkers compiled by the American photographer Milton Rogovin from 1982.
Steven Daniels, (Edge Hill University) examined the Thatcherite decimation of the National Union of Mineworkers in the decade which followed 1984. Cian Quayle (University of Chester) then re-visited Chris Killip’s in Flagrante (1988) and the unique protest mood at anarcho-punk music venues in towns like Gateshead. Nathan Walker, (York St John University) examined the strong affinity the LGBTQ+ movement had with the cause of the miners and their association of the police with state violence, abuse of power, and coercive control.
Turning to the international scene, researcher Aditi Basu, then discussed the rise of Indian Eco socialism which spawned widespread environmental protest movements in the 1980s like the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the Appiko movement. The combined effect of these movements contributed to a critically unconventional theory that intertwines capitalism and its effects on the environment and human welfare. In many ways this was a progressive step forward.
Driss Faddouli, (Chouaib Doukkali University, Morocco) examined class-conflict expressed in the visual media in Morocco, as manifested online in everyday experiences. Daniel A. Gordon, (Edge Hill University) then turned to France 1984, which saw the betrayal of the French Left. Bob Batchelor, (Carolina University) then reviewed President Reagan’s influence – arguing that his legacy continues to shape modern socio-political and cultural discourse and even contributed to the rise of President Trump and his allies.
Chloë Edwards (University of Exeter) showed how music and dancing remained powerful tools for collective activism and solidarity during the miners’ strikes. Notably the HIV/AIDS activism of the groups also intersected with their support for striking miners, resulting in several collaborations with the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) collective. Stephanie Polsky (Pratt Institute, New York) then demonstrated that through key figures like Boy George, Sade, and Spandau Ballet – escapist glamour, challenged the oppressions of Thatcher-era Britain.
Finally in a summative keynote, Robert Edgar, (York St John University) explored the cultural and political legacy of 1984–85 through the lens of hauntology, specifically drawing on the theoretical work of Mark Fisher. His paper examined how Brassed Off (1996) and Sherwood (2022) represent lingering trauma and unresolved tensions. Using Fisher’s conception of hauntology as the persistence of lost futures and the spectral return of a past that has not been properly laid to rest, Rob argued that both texts function as haunted cultural artefacts.
Brassed Off undoubtedly channels melancholia and class struggles through community breakdown, while Sherwood reanimates political betrayal and division. In both cases they present working class ideologies as complex, decentred and often in conflict. These narratives offer different perspectives on the strike’s continuing influence on collective memory and political identity. The provocation is that these representations serve not only as sites of mourning but as spaces of potential reimagining, where the ghosts of suppressed political possibilities may yet speak. It is hardly surprising that the subsequent civic memorialisation of these events has proven so controversial.
Conclusions:
Through a combination of photographic, musical, filmographic and conventional academic presentations, the symposium presented a climate of 1980s Britain and the wider working-class world, in which the dark forces of the state were challenged by progressive intervention of trade unionism and social protest. At the same time in the USA, France, Morocco, India and elsewhere the same forces were seeking to mould a more progressive sense of social conscience, even of eco-socialism. Ultimately, these years spawned a lingering trauma of economic defeat, falling living-standards and unresolved tensions. Like in Fisher’s conception of hauntology, the years which followed were characterised by a sense of lost future and recurrent bitter memories. This experience was powerfully expressed in the diverse mediums utilized by the conference.
– Martin Duffy
Martin Duffy is a student on the MFA in Creative Writing. This piece is inspired by his earliest childhood memories which are a frequent source of stimulus in all of his creative writing, which spans non-fiction and autofiction prose. He has worked extensively with the Irish Folklore Commission and the Sound Archives of National Museums, Northern Ireland. He particularly specializes in succinct vignettes of conflict memoir and the Irish short-story form. Some of his recordings are digitalized as part of the British Library’s “Save our Sounds” Collections.
Further Reading
Apata, G. O. (2025) Extended Review, The Brutalization of the World: Achille Mbembe, Brutalism. Theory, Culture & Society, (London, 2024). https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764241301362.
Battle of Orgreave, 2001 Film entitled Strike: An Uncivil War, directed by Daniel Gordon. It is a documentary that explores the violent confrontation between miners and police during the 1984-85 UK miners’ strike. The film uses personal testimonies, government documents, and archive footage to tell the story of the events at Orgreave.
Nicky Bird, Mineworking Photography Project, 2023-24
Brassed Off, 1996 movie “Brassed Off, Postlethwaite, Pete, et al. Brassed Off. Miramax, 1996.
Chicago/Turabian (Humanities):
Rob Edgar, “British folk horror, hauntology and the terrifying nature of the ordinary”, The Conversation, 22 October 2022.
Chris Killip’s, “In Flagrante,” first published in 1988 by Secker & Warburg, and later reissued as “In Flagrante Two” by Steidl in 2016.
Andrew McMillan, Pity, Canongate Books, London, 2024.
Sherwood, drama series; Written by James Graham. It stars David Morrissey and is inspired by real life murders in Nottinghamshire in 2004. The first episode of the six-episode series aired on BBC One on 13 June 2022. It was renewed for a second series, which premiered on 25 August 2024. In September 2024, a third series was announced.