Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners
Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, speaking at a 2015 British Film Institute event devoted to the 2014 film Pride. L-R: Mike Jackson, Gethin Roberts, Reggie Blennerhassett, Ray Aller, Jeff Cole.
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| Abbreviation | LGSM |
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| Formation | June 30, 1984 |
| Founder | Mark Ashton, Mike Jackson |
| Founded at | London |
| Type | NGO |
| Headquarters | Gay's The Word |
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Official language
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English |
| Secessions | Lesbians Against Pit Closures |
| Website | lgsm |
Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) was an alliance of lesbians and gay men who formed in support of the striking British miners during the year-long UK miners strike of 1984–1985. By the end of the strike, there were eleven groups throughout the UK, and the London group alone raised £11,000 to support the strike.
During the strike, the Thatcher administration sequestered the funds of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), meaning that it was pointless for supporters of the strike to send donations to the national union. Instead, support groups throughout the UK were encouraged to "twin" directly with the various mining communities in England, Scotland and Wales. Among these organisations, the LGSM was formed by Mark Ashton and his friend Michael Jackson, after the two men collected donations for the miners at the 1984 Lesbian and Gay Pride march in London. The London LGSM group met and fundraised in numerous locations, including the Gay's the Word bookshop, which served as the London group's headquarters. The London group was twinned with the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valleys Miners Support Groups.
In November 1984, a group of lesbians broke away from LGSM to form a separate group, Lesbians Against Pit Closures, although some lesbians remained active in the LGSM campaign rather than joining the women-only group.
In addition to raising approximately £20,000 for the families who were on strike, there were reciprocal visits. The largest single fundraising event that LGSM organised was the "Pits and Perverts" benefit concert, which was held in the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town, London on 10 December 1984. The event was headlined by Bronski Beat and its lead singer, Jimmy Somerville. The title of the benefit is claimed by many to have originated as a headline in the British tabloid The Sun.
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