REST IN POWER
Remembering Anne Scargill, 1941-2025
By Heather Wood and Betty Cook
Anne Scargill, a true leader, a good friend and a proud socialist has died after struggling with ill health for a number of years.
Anne was one of the founding members of Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC) and one the most courageous voices for working class communities during and after the Miners’ Strike of 1984/85.
Sadly, Anne passed away on 11 April 2025. Her death marks the passing of a symbol of resilience, grassroots activism
and enduring solidarity.
Anne was a Yorkshire lass; she grew up in a coalfield community where she experienced firsthand the hardships and camaraderie of mining life. It was a world built on shared labour, unspoken rules and deeply rooted pride.
Anne became a central figure in the tumultuous struggles of Britain’s industrial heartlands. She emerged as a formidable figure, particularly during the Miners’ Strike when she helped mobilise and organise thousands of women in support of their partners, brothers and sons who were fighting not just for jobs but for their communities and their dignity.
From food kitchens to protest lines, Anne Scargill was there; she became a defining voice of the WAPC movement.
While the Thatcher government and much of the mainstream media sought to demonise the strike, Anne helped reframe it not as an industrial dispute but as a human struggle.
Her speeches delivered in her strong Yorkshire accent and filled with passion were grounded in the language of fairness, justice and human rights. She gave women a voice.
After the strike, Anne remained active in community politics, environmental protest and campaigns for social justice.
She was arrested multiple times, including at a high-profile anti-fracking demonstration and, in 1997, chained herself to the gates of a colliery in South Wales to protest its closure. Her defiance remained undimmed long after the pits fell silent.
Anne was a friend to so many folk, not just in Britain but around the world. She left her mark and her name will resonate for many years to come. Anne Scargill’s legacy is not simply one of resistance but of empowerment.
Her work helped to ensure that the fight for jobs was also a fight for gender equality, for dignity and for community survival.
Tributes have poured in from trade unions, MPs and grassroots organisations across Britain and beyond. Frances O’Grady, the former TUC General Secretary, described her as a warrior for justice whose impact will echo for generations.
Anne leaves behind a legacy rooted in the belief that ordinary people when organised and determined can change the course of history. Her voice may now be silent but her spirit lives on at every picket line, in every protest chant and in every act of solidarity that challenges injustice.
Anne’s smile, the look of determination in her eyes never faded. She was loved, she is loved and she will never be forgotten.
- This article was originally published in the May 2025 edition of Labour Briefing magazine.
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