and would return miners' wages to the levels recommended by the Wilberforce Inquiry in 1972. NUM control of picketing There had been some violence on miners' picket lines during the unofficial strike of 1969 and the official strike of 1972. Aware of the damage that could be done to the Labour Party's electoral prospects by media coverage of picket-line violence, the NUM instituted strict controls over pickets. Pickets had to wear armbands saying "official picket" and had to be authorised by areas. Unlike in 1972, students were discouraged from joining miners' picket lines. Every picket line had to be authorised by the local NUM area with a chief picket to ensure that no violence took place. Media Most of the media were strongly opposed to the NUM strike. An exception was the Daily Mirror, which ran an emotive campaign to support the NUM. Its edition on election day in 1974 showed hundreds of crosses on its front page to represent the miners who had died since nationalisation in 1947, accompanied by the message, "Before you use your cross, remember these crosses". Election result The election resulted in a hung parliament: the Conservative Party took the largest share of the vote, but lost its majority, with Labour having the most seats in the House of Commons. In the ensuing talks, Heath failed to secure enough parliamentary support from Liberal and Ulster Unionist MPs; and Harold Wilson returned to power in a minority government. The normal working week was restored on 8 March, but other restrictions on the use of electricity remained in force. A second general election was held in October 1974 cementing the Labour administration, which gained a majority of three seats. The new Labour government increased miners' wages by 35% immediately after the February 1974 election. In February 1975, a further increase of 35% was achieved without any industrial action. In the campaign for the 1979 general election, after the Winter of Discontent running into that year, Labour reminded voters of the Three-Day Week, with a poster showing a lit candle and bearing the slogan "Remember the last time the Tories said they had all the answers?" Notes Further reading Beckett, Andy. When the lights went out: Britain in the seventies (Faber & Faber, 2009). Grawe, Nathan D. "The three-day week of 1974 and measurement error in the FES and NCDS data sets" (No. 2002-11. ISER Working Paper Series,