Strike Night on More4 last night: A reminder of how the Tories are bad for Britain

Much of this blog has been attacking the Labour Party, as after all they are the ones in power, although I have also been highly critical of Tory mayor Boris Johnson.

However, I rewatched Strike: When Britain Went To War, shown as part of Strike Night on More4, as well as a bit of Ken Loach's Whose Site Are You On, showing poems and songs from the 1984 miners' strike.

While the former had a patronising and rather simplistic narration, and the pop songs were not necessary, it was a useful introduction for those unaware of the miners' strike of 1984. Ken Loach's film was moving and revealing, worth a look.

Both documentaries showed me how destructive the Tories were during their last period of government.

In fact, I can only think of one good policy that they had; the regeneration of the Docklands in East London and the construction of the Docklands Light Railway in 1981.

While I don't support the attacks on working miners such as those alleged by Union of Democratic Mineworkers founder Neil Greatrex in last night's documentary, I'm firmly on the side of the strikers.

During the strike, miners were fighting not just their working colleagues and the police, but the press, PR consultants and a powerful government.

The strike didn't just destroy the lives of miners, it led to destruction of whole mining communities.

Some argue that the coal industry is a contributor to climate change, which is true. So why not switch to renewable energy and offer jobs to the coal miners first of all? Thatcher didn't care about the environment unless it could give her votes.

In the excellent Marching To The Fault Line, Francis Beckett and David Hencke point out that we now import coal from abroad, with only six pits in the whole of Britain.

One has to ask if David Cameron, former special advisor to Pinochet supporter Norman Lamont on Black Wednesday, will be more like Margaret Thatcher or a Ted Heath/John Major figure. Rapid decline or slow decline? 1979 or 1970? I predict he will be more of a Ted Heath figure, but maybe I'm being too positive.

I also predict that the Tories will cut the BBC licence fee dramatically when they get into power. The right hate the BBC. Even Sir Alan Sugar continuing to present The Apprentice while being in government has provoked howls of fury.

Boris Johnson will become a maverick thorn in David Cameron's side, but will be tolerated as the two men have similar policies and views, unlike Ken Livingstone and Tony Blair.

In 1983, a Labour MP named Neil Kinnock delivered a powerful attack on Thatcherism, stating "I warn you that you will have pain–when healing and relief depend upon payment.I warn you that you will have ignorance–when talents are untended and wits are wasted, when learning is a privilege and not a right." You can read the full text here.

Will we be hearing the same about David Cameron? Will we have the equivalent of the Miners' Strike four or five years down the line?

Then again, anti trade union laws have neutered the power of the unions. Only the oil workers' strike poses the potential to disrupt the operations of Britain.

While there is a potential for another Tube strike in London, which management are trying to avoid, three day strikes are not a significant enough threat to the business and political interests in London to cause policy changes amongst Transport for London.

I would be interested to know how many of today's schoolchildren, who all seem to have MP3 players and be increasingly hyperactive, know about the Miners' Strike outside of former mining communities. I reckon not very many.

In 1984, tens of thousands of heroes defied the threat of mass unemployment and fought for their jobs. They understood community and the need for employment, two parts of life the Tories didn't in the eighties and pretend to only now.

Today, in another time of mass unemployment, the media tell us what heroes to fete, before destroying them like they did with Susan Boyle. At least More4 tried to educate people on some people worthy of attention and respect, even if it was on Saturday night when most people don't watch television.

If you are interested in viewing Strike: When Britain Went To War, check out 4 on Demand, Channel 4's watch again service.

I won't be voting for Labour or the Tories at the next General Election. I implore you not to either.

Adam Bienkov's Tory Troll blog gives you a taste of how a Tory Mayor of London, as well as the Tory Mayor of Barnet Brian Coleman, behaves.

Labour MP for Bolesover, Dennis Skinner, is a rare exception and a real working class hero.