After leaving school in 1958, Michael Clapham worked as a coal miner for 12 years before he returned to education, studying at Leeds Polytechnic and the University of Leeds. In 1974, he lectured in trade union studies at the Whitwood College in Castleford, before joining the National Union of Mineworkers in 1977 as a claims officer. He then became the NUM's head of industrial relations in 1983, the position he held for the duration of the miners' strike of 1984-1985, and the role he stepped down from on his election to the House of Commons in 1992. Throughout his parliamentary career, Clapham was heavily involved in the coal industry and particularly so in relation to the government's management of coal health claims.
This series of records covers Michael Clapham's on-going work and relationship with the coal industry and includes correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, articles, research papers, statistics, presentations and memoranda that concern a very wide range of subjects, including: the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM); the closure of coal mines; coal miners' health claims; the issues affecting coalfield communities; the 1984-1985 miners' strike; the 1993-1994 Coal Industry Bill; the Coal Authority; and the future prospects for the coal industry.
This collection will not be fully catalogued until Dec 2016. A basic catalogue structure has been provided to enable access to this collection until then. Please contact the Heritage Quay team if you would like to consult this archive further.