Elected president of the National Union of Miners (NUM) 1981, he embarked on a collision course with the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher. The damaging strike of 1984-85 split the miners movement. Scargill became a miner on leaving school and was soon a union and political activist, in the Young Communist League 1955-62 and then a member of the Labour Party from 1966 and president of the Yorkshire miner's union 1973-81. he became a fiery and effective orator. During the 1984-85 miner's strike he was criticised for not seeking an early NUM ballot to support the strike decision. In 1990 an independent inquiry, commissioned by the NUM, found him guilty of breach of duty and maintaining double accounts during the strike.
