Pap - genuine question - when you say that with such certainty, are you making a personal judgement based on what you re read/seen/heard etc or is this something that Thatcher explicitly admitted doing later in life?
I don't doubt for one moment that ONE of Thatcher's primary motivations was to 'smash the unions' but what is the actual evidence that shows that she needed to close economically viable mines to meet that end?
What I'd really like to do is a case study on one of the mines in question and trace it from the date it opened through to the date of closure, analysing the financial accounts throughout that period.
I think people on both sides of the debate trot out their largely anecdotal evidence to back up their views but I'd really like to fine tooth comb one example to illustrate the point you make.
If it could be proved that Thatcher closed down a mine SOLELY to inflict damage on a union (i.e. it wasn't part of a package of reasons on a case by case basis) then I'd be open to changing my view of Thatcher in this area.
Are there any archives I can trawl through that would give me the independent info I'm after?