South Yorkshire Times January 16th 1965
Re-ballot move at Denaby Main
Over 18 months ago, Conisbrough miner, Mr. Harry Powell, was barred from contesting a pit election for N.U.M branch secretary as an allegedly unfinancial member of the union.
But now the man who won that election, Denaby Main branch secretary, Mr. Tom Ryan, says he will agree to a re-ballot.
In December, Mr. Powell, of Sycamore Grove, Conisbrough, was declared to be a fully paid up union member, and he then claimed that he was entitled to a re-ballot of the election from which he was barred. His request has been turned down at national level, but Mr. Ryan told the “South Yorkshire Times” on Monday “I feel it would be better to get the whole thing cleared up, and as far as I am personally concerned, Mr. Powell can have a re-ballot.”
Mr. Ryan said he had told Denaby miners this at a branch meting on Sunday.
But Mr. Ryan added, “Mr. Powell’s request for a re-ballot has been turned down once, and the matter is now in the hands of the union’s national executive.”