Steve Kemp (trade unionist)

Steve Kemp (born 1961) is a British trade unionist.

Kemp grew up in South Hiendley in West Yorkshire, and worked briefly as a butcher before becoming a coal miner at South Kirkby Colliery. He became active in the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and participated in the miners' strike of 1984 to 1985. ^[1]

In 1988, the South Kirkby mine closed, and Kemp moved to work at the Stillingfleet Mine, near Selby. A supporter of Arthur Scargill, he became treasurer, and then secretary of his union branch. ^{[2] [1]} He stood for the Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC) in 1996 and for several years afterwards, but was never elected. ^[3] He also attempted to become the Labour candidate in the 1996 Hemsworth by-election, but was barred from standing by a panel of NEC members. ^[4]

Kemp was elected as Secretary of the NUM in 2002, ^[5] proposing to strengthen the union's links with the Labour Party. ^[6] He stood down in 2007, ^[7] and joined the political department of the GMB Union. ^[8]

References

1. Simon Garfield, "Why would a miner strike in 1995?", The Independent , 29 June 1995
2. "Orders of the Day — Coal Industry Bill", parliament.uk, 15 January 1992
3. "The Labour Party Elections 1996"
4. Andy McSmith, Faces of Labour: The Inside Story, p.130
5. Peter Lazenby, "The fallen giant", Yorkshire Evening Post , 21 November 2002
6. "An era over as Scargill bows out", The Scotsman , 30 July 2002
7. "Mining union chief to stand down", BBC News , 12 July 2007
8. "About GMB and Politics", GMB

Trade union offices
Preceded by Position vacant	General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers 2002–2007	Succeeded by Chris Kitchen