Editing Brassed Off (section)

==Context==
The film is set ten years after the [[UK miners' strike (1984–85)|year-long strike in 1984–85]] by the [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers in Britain]]. Before the privatisation of [[British Coal]], a wave of pit closures took place. Depleted of resources following the long strike, the miners were unable to continue a resistance against the policies of the government. Many had been in debt ever since the strike, and were prepared to take redundancy money whilst it was on offer.

The [[National Coal Board]] (NCB) arranged private ballots to determine between closing a pit immediately with compulsory redundancies or taking a pit to a review procedure to determine whether the pit should be privatised. Although miners had a tradition of fighting for their jobs, the risk of losing the redundancy money on offer by going forwards to privatisation swung the votes in most ballots to be in favour of pit closure and redundancy. The loss of hope, pride and fighting spirit in previously proud mining communities was the basis for the idea of being "brassed off", an expression used in the North of England meaning "angry".

Beginning in early 1993, groups of miners' wives camped outside some pits' gates and outside the [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Department of Trade and Industry]] in London.<ref name="StrikeNotTheEnd">{{cite book|last1=Douglass|first1=David John|title=Strike, not the end of the story|publisher=National Coal Mining Museum for England|location=Overton, Yorkshire, UK|year=2005|pages=42–43}}</ref> This is referred to in the film. It contrasts with the muted response from the mineworkers, some of whom sang ''Shut the pit!'' to the tune of the song ''[[Here We Go (football chant)|Here We Go!]]'' from the 1984–85 strike.<ref name="StrikeNotTheEnd"/>