I almost fell off my chair... laughing. I understand why Bob Crow might be furious with Boris Johnson after Boris Johnson announced massive job losses with the implementation of automated trains and lay off of underground service workers but the idea that Bob Crow and Ken Livingstone don't see each other eye to eye is something worth recording onto some sort of Guinness Book of Records.
As days go by, the London Assembly Elections campaign gets more and more interesting. Both Ken and Boris are involved in a meaningless show of numbers and percentages trying to sound impressive when the present state of the British economy wouldn't allow anybody rational to make any predictions.
They all promise hundreds of thousand new jobs for London. If you want to believe in fairy tales, that is your choice. The reality is that we can merely talk about principles and trends what we would like to promote at a time when the policies of Lib Lab Con can only produce more and more lay-offs in an already depressed environment.
Bob Crow successfully managed to negotiate salary increases for transport workers. Unfortunately, when the said increases become a reality most of their jobs will no longer exist.
Bob Crow does not support Ken Livingstone's campaign. The RMT (the union of which he is the leader) is not affiliated to the Labour Party. The party Crow does support is TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition), to which RMT branches can affiliate if they wish, and which is standing candidates in the London Assembly Elections.
ReplyDeleteAs far as differences between Crow and Livingstone go, I would guess that one major difference is over whether the Labour party can be reclaimed in the interests of ordinary people.
TUSC candidates stand on a platform of absolutely no cuts to services. The RMT has a proud record of taking action to defend members' jobs, terms and conditions. As you say, there is no real difference between Lib Lab Con policies, and TUSC is a start in building a new mass party to provide an alternative to job losses caused by cuts and privatisation.
My perspective is that proposals aimed at having an automated underground train service are totally unnacceptable. We must protect public services. In terms of privatised services, I see also as unnaceptable that we are paying subsidies with monies that end up in the hands of private shareholders. Year on year, on top of subsidies, travelling fares are going up by three points above the rate of inflation. I see also as totally unnacceptable the fact that we as Mr and Mrs Smith have no say in the matter.
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