Lesbians Against Pit Closures

Lesbians Against Pit Closures (LAPC) were an alliance of lesbian women who came together to support the National Union of Mineworkers and various mining communities during the UK miners strike of 1984–1985. They were formed after a schism in the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) movement, in November 1984. Members of the organization were involved in picket line protests against the delivery of coal to the factories by strikebreakers.

We do regular collections around lesbian pubs and clubs [...] we do collections outside of supermarkets, as well, to try and involve other people in what we're doing, as well as the normal activities in colleges and workplaces that other people are involved in as well.

LAPC originated when a number of LGSM members decided they needed a women-only space for lesbians, due to issues concerning sexism, misogyny and lesbophobia among males in the LGSM movement. Ray Goodspeed, an LGSM member, says that: "The men in the meetings were generally like men in most meetings," and according to founders of LAPC, when the issues of a lesbian-only organization were discussed in LGSM, "they [LGSM members] often snorted with derision". LAPC was also formed as a group to give women a voice, as with Women Against Pit Closures, to help bring feminist ideas into a working men's sphere, such as a Miners' institute. Some women said they were intimidated by the gay men who made up the bulk of LGSM membership.

The alliances which the campaign forged between LGBT and labour groups also proved to be an important turning point in the progression of LGBT issues in the United Kingdom. Miners' labour groups began to support and endorse and participate in various LGBT pride events throughout the UK; at the 1985 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, a resolution committing the party to support LGBT equality rights passed for the first time due to block voting support from the National Union of Mineworkers; and miners' groups were among the most outspoken allies of the LGBT community in the 1988 campaign against Section 28.

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