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'''Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners''' ('''LGSM''') was a British campaigning group formed in London in 1984 to raise money and organise support for mining communities during the UK miners' strike (1984–1985. Co-founded by the activists [[Mark Ashton]] and [[Mike Jackson (activist)|Mike Jackson]], it twinned with mining families in the Dulais Valley of the South Wales Coalfield, and became one of the best-known examples of solidarity between the LGBT community and the wider labour movement.

== Background ==
During the year-long miners' strike, the government of Margaret Thatcher sequestered the funds of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which made national donations impractical. Supporters were instead encouraged to twin directly with individual mining communities in England, Scotland and Wales.<ref name="phm"/>

== Formation ==
The group grew out of a bucket collection for striking miners that Mark Ashton and Mike Jackson organised at the [[London Pride|Lesbian and Gay Pride march]] in London in June 1984. LGSM was formally established a few weeks later, after a representative of the South Wales NUM spoke at a meeting at the University of London Student Union.<ref name="rcahmw"/><ref name="phm"/> Collections were regularly taken at gay venues across London and outside the LGBT bookshop [[Gay's the Word]].<ref name="phm"/> Some of the women involved went on to form a separate group, [[Lesbians Against Pit Closures]].<ref name="rcahmw"/>

== Activities ==
LGSM raised funds at pubs, clubs and bookshops, and the original London group alone collected around £22,500 for the miners; by 1985 some eleven LGSM groups had formed across the UK, with branches in cities including Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin.<ref name="wp"/><ref name="phm"/> Its best-known fundraiser was the "Pits and Perverts" benefit concert in December 1984, headlined by Bronski Beat – the name a deliberate reclaiming of a hostile tabloid headline.<ref name="wp"/>

Reciprocal visits built lasting friendships between the London activists and the Welsh mining families they supported, including a visit by LGSM members to the Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall in the Dulais Valley on 27 October 1984.<ref name="rcahmw"/>

== Solidarity returned ==
The support was returned in kind. Mining communities joined the 1985 [[London Pride]] march in a show of solidarity, and – with the backing of the NUM's block vote – the Labour Party conference of 1985 passed a resolution committing the party to LGBT rights, a landmark moment in mainstream political support for gay and lesbian equality in Britain.<ref name="wp"/>

== Legacy ==
Mark Ashton died of an AIDS-related illness in February 1987, aged 26; the Mark Ashton Red Ribbon Fund was established in his memory.<ref name="doward"/> The story of LGSM reached a wide audience through the 2014 film [[Pride (film)|''Pride'']], which won the BAFTA award for Outstanding Debut, prompting the group to reform and take part in Pride events once again.<ref name="bbc"/> In 2019 plaques honouring Ashton and the Dulais Valley organiser Hefina Headon were unveiled at Onllwyn Welfare Hall.<ref name="bbc"/>

== See also ==
* [[Mark Ashton]]
* [[Lesbians Against Pit Closures]]
* [[London Pride]]

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="phm">[https://phm.org.uk/blogposts/what-was-lgsm/ What was LGSM?], People's History Museum.</ref>
<ref name="rcahmw">[https://rcahmw.gov.uk/lgbt-history-month-lesbians-and-gays-support-the-miners-1984-85/ LGBT History Month: Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, 1984–85], Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.</ref>
<ref name="wp">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbians_and_Gays_Support_the_Miners Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners], Wikipedia.</ref>
<ref name="doward">Jamie Doward, [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/21/mark-ashton-gay-pride-film "The real-life triumphs of the gay communist behind hit movie Pride"], ''The Guardian'', 21 September 2014.</ref>
<ref name="bbc">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48139370 Pride: Dulais miners' strike film inspirations honoured], BBC News, 2019.</ref>
</references>

[[Category:Organisations]]