Founded in 1945 from the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain (MFGB), the NUM is the main trade union for mineworkers. Far more militant than its predecessor, the NUM's founding rulebook outwardly committed the union to the nationalisation of the coal industry and the complete abolition of capitalism.
The NUM won a series of victories against the British government and the National Coal Board up until the mid-1980s, most notably with the 1972 Miners’ Strike (including the famous 'Battle of Saltley Gate') and in 1974 with the three-Day Week and the resignation of Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath.
However, the loss of the bitterly fought 1984-5 Miners’ Strike also signalled the end of the NUM as a significant political force.
Despite the NUM being granted ‘core participant’ status at the Inquiry, there has been no specific disclosure relating to the infiltration of the NUM. However, both the NUM and its leader, Arthur Scargill, were surveilled by MI5.
Phillip Rawthorne. Thatcher's Culture of Conformity.