Sunley's advocacy of ‘coalfield cultures’ as an element in the determination of the 1984–1985 miners' strike in Britain is critically evaluated. Although there are substantial differences between coalfields in their historically rooted political and industrial behaviour, and in their wider social relations and practices, the nature and determination of such ‘cultures’ is more complex than Sunley suggests. This complexity reinforces the arguments of my original paper, especially with respect to the contingent nature of industrial and political ‘cultures’.
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