By Alan Thornett

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Pious weakness since it inevitably led to similar decisions in Scotland and Kent.

Scargill's public statements on the Wednesday (day three of the strike) were excellent. He answered sections of the media who were calling for a national ballot by giving full support to the strike movement as it was developing and quoting rule 42 and conference policy as the authority for area by-area strikes. He announced that he had decided to call a National Executive Committee for Thursday in order to seek an unanimous vote in support of the strikes. (By this time some Derbyshire pits were out with Wales).

At this time there were no public calls for a national ballot from within the NUM, although some areas had decided to ballot on an area basis, as Wales had. The only public voice calling for a national ballot was Trevor Bell of COSA. Even in right wing areas, where area ballots were called, the recommendation was to support the strike. The media at this time were scouring the coalfields lookanti-strike movement, as they did at Grimethorpe.

Ballot

But even they could not detect any significant moves for a national ballot from within the NUM.

It is arguable that there could have been a widespread campaign for a national ballot inside the NUM that wás not detectable from outside (although none of the letters argue that). But if that was the case, why did Scargill call the EC meeting for the Thursday and allow the right wing to take over before the strikes had even begun? Were the supposed moves for a national ballot unknown even to him, as president of the NUM?

He could have called the NEC few days later, and Yorkshire, ious health effects.

1. There must be a large quantity released, otherwise the radioactivity may be so spread out that it has little effect.

2. The substance must have a high mobility in the environment.

If it all falls straight to the ground and stays there, it will not cause mucn damage to ine general pub- 11. ..-- 7. lic (unless they all visit the fields round Windscale). But if it floats easily in the air, dissolves in the rain, and is easily absorbed by plants and animals, then it will quickly spread. by the human body - it must be 2. 1l must ve casuy dusurveu the same as or similar to substances that we normally take in from our diet.

4. It must have a long radioactive and biological half-life. In other words, it must remain radioactive for a lono time and it must stay in the body tot a long time.

The NRPB study decided that none of the radioactive substances released from Windscale satisfied

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Socialist Organiser no.127 April 14 1983 Page 12 SOU ROCK April 25 5 12 19 27 11 26 Monday 6 13 20 28 Tuesday 1 21 29 Wednesday 1 5 22 30 Thursday 16 23 Friday 17 24 Saturday Sunday HARINGEY Labour Committee on Ireland. Public meeting "Why Labour needs to speak to Sinn Fein'. . Speaker: Steve Bundred [GLC] and Geoff Bell [LCI]. 7.30pm on Thursday 14 April at Brabant Road WHAT future the Homeless in Tower Hamlets?

Public meeting with Jack Dash; Chris Holmes; Jock Stallard MP and Jim Lawrie 7pm, Saturday 16 April at Bromley Public Hall, Bow Road, E1. Organised by Tower House Residents Association.

----- pull-quotes -----

ing for any anti-strike moves to latch onto and exaggerate into an