Thatcher had the balls to stand up to unions that were trying to hold the country to ransom, in those days the situation was different, coal mines were losing money and needing subsidies, the unions were expecting the taxpayer to bail them out, like the bankers do now. And with weakass figures like Cameron in charge thats what they get.
What we need is someone with balls like Thatcher to stand up to the banks say to them "No, No, No", if coal exports is a growing market then thats what the state should be focusing on, and for people that lose their jobs in banking its up to them to seek work in that sector, and not expect the state to let them carry on working in their unprofitable industries.
So what if that means that you get more inequality, the Aussies don't care about people getting rich from mining coal? If everyone in Yorkshire and the North East working the pits gets rich then good for them, their wealth will trickle down to help the poor in the non mining regions like the south.