Background
McLoughlin was born in Stafford, the son and grandson of coal miners. He was educated at the Cardinal Griffin Roman Catholic School in Cannock, Staffordshire, and Staffordshire College of Agriculture at Rodbaston College. From 1974 he worked for five years as a farm worker and after 1979 worked underground at the Littleton Colliery in Cannock. He was a member of the National Union of Mineworkers, he became an industrial representative for the National Coal Board's Western Area Marketing Department. Although a member of the NUM he broke ranks during the 1984 miners strike and later came to national attention when he stood up at the Conservative Party Conference to announce that he was a working miner. His career within the Coal Board was fast tracked to avoid a hostile reaction on the return of fellow miners following the end of the strike, rising from belt attendant to Area Marketing.
Read more about this topic: Patrick McLoughlin
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