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In tribute to an unflinching class fighter and stalwart of the NUM

Remembering KEN CAPSTICK, vice-president of the National Union of Mineworkers Yorkshire Area

THE labour and trade union movement has lost one of its most respected activists with the death of Ken Capstick, who for more than half-a-century was a tower of strength in the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and close friend and comrade to former NUM president Arthur Scargill.

Capstick, 84, died in Bulgaria where he was visiting his son David. He was born in the Yorkshire mining community of Hemsworth and trained as an electrician in the coalmining industry, becoming an activist in the NUM. He worked at Park Hill colliery in Wakefield. When Park Hill closed in 1982 he transferred to the huge Selby coalfield.

A decade earlier he was involved in the Battle of Saltley Gate, when engineering workers in the Midlands downed tools to reinforce striking miners picketing a coking depot, successfully closing it down.

Capstick was a leading figure in the 1984-5 strike and was a delegate to the NUM’s Yorkshire Area Council which ratified the strike at Cortonwood colliery, bringing the NUM’s Yorkshire area out on strike.

He was part of a small committee based at the Yorkshire NUM headquarters in Barnsley organising flying pickets with military precision. He was sent by the union to Canada on a speaking tour to raise funds.

Capstick was vice-president of the NUM’s Yorkshire Area from 1990 to 1994 when the Tory government unleashed its final and most devastating programme of pit closures and the destruction of coalmining communities. 

When the 1984 strike began there were 180 coalmines in Britain. Closures began immediately after the 1984-5 strike. The 1994 wave of 32 closures left just 16 pits which were then privatised. They included the huge Selby complex of five pits producing 10 million tonnes of coal a year. The Selby complex, where Capstick worked, had cost the taxpayer £5 billion. It was sold to privateers for £900 million.

Capstick had been active in the Labour Party and in 1991 was selected by a large majority to be Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hemsworth, one of Labour’s safest seats. The selection was over-ruled by the Labour Party’s national executive committee (NEC) which was said to have decided Capstick “was too close to Arthur Scargill.”

Hemsworth Constituency Labour Party refused to select an alternative candidate so the NEC imposed one upon them. Capstick soon quit the Labour Party and joined the Socialist Labour Party led by Scargill and became its treasurer. He later stood as SLP candidate against Labour in Barnsley, unsuccessfully.

Mention must be made of Capstick’s wife Sheila, to whom he was devoted and who died in 2018. In the 1970s she was banned from playing snooker at Wakefield City Workingmen’s Club simply because she was a woman. With others she launched the Equal Rights in Clubs Campaign for Action (ERICCA), taking on the mighty Club and Institute Union (CIU) which represented 4,000 social clubs with four million members. Women could not be full members of the CIU or participate in meetings and elections of officials. 

The campaign won national attention. It was a long struggle, but 30 years later most clubs had conceded equal membership for women.

Tributes to Capstick have come from trade union leaders, MPs and NUM activists who worked alongside him. Arthur Scargill said: “I know there will be many messages and expressions of sorrow and shock at the loss of an outstanding trade unionist and socialist, who continued to fight to the very end of his life for workers’ rights and socialism.

“During the railway workers’ strikes of a couple of years ago, Ken and I stood side by side on RMT and Aslef picket lines.

“To mark the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the Battle of Saltley Gate, 1972 — in which Ken fought on the picket lines — we spoke together.

“Only last year, we shared a platform at the major rallies marking the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike of 1984-85. Ken was a former vice-president of the National Union of Mineworkers Yorkshire Area.

“He was a leading member and official in the Socialist Labour Party and since 2017 a trustee of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.

“To every task or role he took on he brought unswerving commitment together with an extraordinary range of skills.

“Ken and I were comrades and personal friends for over 50 years. No words can express the sense of loss I feel.

“However, his death is a massive loss to the labour and trade union movement of a man who fought from a young age for trade union rights and a socialist system of society.

“I extend my deepest sympathy to Ken’s much-loved children, David, Julie and Graham and his grand-children who were his pride and joy.”

Mick Lynch, general secretary of rail union RMT, said: “On behalf of all of us in RMT, I extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ken Capstick. 

“Ken was one of the finest trade unionists of his generation, an NUM stalwart who put himself on the front line during the miners’ strike and dedicated his life to the fight for workers’ rights. His tireless commitment and unwavering resolve are an example to us all.

“Ken stood shoulder to shoulder with us on RMT picket lines during the national rail strike in 2022, showing his steadfast support for our members and their fight for fair pay and decent conditions.

“Ken played a pivotal role in the Battle of Saltley Gate, a defining moment in our movement’s history and one that embodied his lifelong commitment to trade union action.

“Ken’s legacy will inspire trade unionists going forward to take up the fight for dignity and justice in the workplace and in our communities. His contribution to our movement will never be forgotten.”

Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Blyth and Ashington and former president of the NUM, said: “As well as a friend Ken was a great comrade. I first met him at a rally during the miners’ strike.

“I always remember his awesome ‘no flinching, no wavering’ contributions in support of the NUM and the need to continue the fight for our industry and communities.

“Ken’s right up there with the best of the best and the strongest of the strongest. He’ll be a great loss to the labour and trade union movement and all that knew him.”

Jon Trickett, Labour MP since 1996 for the former mining communities of Normanton and Hemsworth in West Yorkshire, said: “Ken was a friend and a comrade. He was a political giant, a stalwart for the working class. During the 1984-5 strike he fought like a tiger.”

Mick Appleyard was a striking miner at Sharlston colliery in West Yorkshire and after the strike was a delegate to the NUM’s influential Yorkshire Area Council.

He said: “Ken was a principled trade unionist who never turned his back on a fight for the miners. He was also very articulate. I have been on many a platform with him. As soon as Ken turned up I knew I was second fiddle.”

Capstick’s funeral will take place in Bulgaria. A memorial event will take place in Wakefield on a date to be announced.

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