Thoresby Colliery: You haven’t got a a clue

I read the recent letters in the recent edition of the Chad and realised that these people haven’t got a clue what’s happening with the economy re coal production in the UK.
Thoresby CollieryThoresby Colliery
Thoresby Colliery

To simplify it, coal from UK mines isn’t wanted - it costs too much to mine because it receives no subsides from the goverment, not like the imports of coal, gas, nuclear even electricity from France.

You cannot compete with subsided fuels because the playing field is not fair towards the UK miners .

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The miners of this country can hold their heads high these are the fathers/ sons of miners who kept the coal coming during the war to fire the boilers to build the weapons to give us the freedom we sought.

People say we brought on our own downfall but the recent papers released from meetings during that Thatchers goverment have already stated pits were all going to close.

Jobs for life, lads’ is what we were told in 1967 when i started, but closure is what was on the cards with the Tories - and Labour were no saints either.

Now we find ourselves dependant solely on imported coal, a country that has just as much coal underground now than has been mined already to date.

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It makes me laugh that letters only come to light when something has or is about to happen with the closure.

Where was the support or letters when the closure programme was announced in the 80s/90s?

We were called greedy, selfish, miners by some.

Once the full market has been captured by imports, then watch the price rise,because once a coal mine closes there is very little chance of this opening back up.

Not only the miners’ jobs are lost. the knock-on effect on suppliers to the UK coal industry is also on a massive scale too.

I read them and weep, I read them and laugh - the letters come from mostly people that haven’t got a clue.

Kev Pattison

Mansfield

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