Rail union leader Mick Lynch has announced his retirement. No doubt there will be plenty who will breathe a sigh of relief, be it the politicians and hapless interviewers he has skewered on live television, to the passengers whose commutes were disrupted by the RMT’s strikes.
Pugnacious in both appearance and attitude, he is a stereotypical leftie from the days of I’m All Right Jack. He once told an interviewer that ‘all I want from life is a bit of socialism’. His views range from the predictable pro-Palestinian stance to strongly supporting Brexit.
Yet, to his members, his firebrand speeches and no-nonsense approach to those who opposed him was seen as key to the eventual pay deal he won. More than that, it highlighted the workers’ struggle to the public in general, and garnered far more support than it would have done without him.
His approach was the subject of a piece I did for The Spectator a couple of years ago, though reactions to it ranged from praise in unlikely quarters to accusations of being a Marxist.
My point then, as now, is that Lynch will be remembered for far more than as an old-fashioned left winger, in the mould of Arthur Scargill or Hugh Scanlon.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in