Life post for miners’ chief

Press, 6 July 1985, Page 11

Life post for miners’ chief

NZPA-PA London Arthur Scargill was made leader of the National Union of Mineworkers for life yesterday. Delegates at the annual N.U.M. conference in Sheffield gave a 75 per cent majority on a vote to adopt the controversial new-rule book and widened still further the rift with the moderate Nottinghamshire area. Their 15-man delegation, led by the two men sacked as full-time union officials by the N.U.M. on Thursday, left the conference hall and went back to their area headquarters at Mansfield. They are opposed to the new rules on the ground that they will affect their autonomy. Roy Lynk, the sacked Nottinghamshire general secretary, said later, “If we took part in the rules revisions discussions, we were giving some sort of legitimacy to the whole proceedings and our members said that we could not do that.” The new rule-book takes

away Mr Scargill’s casting vote on the national executive. He therefore escapes the effect of the new trade union legislation requiring union officers with voting papers to stand for election every five years. Mr Scargill insisted at a news conference that the new rule did not change the position he held under the old rules.