1. Labour and the strikes
If Mick Lynch’s ongoing media round has been a masterclass, then this morning’s media round by David Lammy was a disaster class.
It would be preferable not to need to talk about Labour at all. The political focus ought to be completely on the government’s failings and complicity in the cost of living crisis. Far better for the labour movement not to be divided on this question. However, Labour has made itself the story.
First, Keir Starmer hardened Labour’s position into being ‘against’ the rail strikes. That was then exacerbated by the leaked instruction to frontbenchers not to join picket lines. If this was designed to keep attention focused on the Tories and not Labour, it failed.
On the Sunday morning media round today, David Lammy took the position further - not simply failing to stand with people but actively opposing and undermining their position.
Lammy told viewers that “a serious party of government does not join the picket lines.”
It took only a few minutes for social media to be filled with pictures of David Lammy - and Keir Starmer - standing on picket lines or supporting strikes.
With regard to Trevor Phillips’ perfectly reasonable question of whether Labour supports the demand of another part of the labour movement for a seven per cent pay increase and the guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, Lammy first tried to dodge the issue altogether, saying instead: ‘Just to say I don't want confusion for people listening, the RMT is not affiliated to the Labour Party.’
But pressed by Phillips for Sky and Sophie Raworth for the BBC, Lammy’s position was to pull the rug from under workers seeking some protection. Phillips put the example of Dave Ward, General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union: “His members have turned down the five and a half percent offer of pay rise from the post office. Are you going to back them if they ballot for strike action?” Lammy not only did not say yes, he suggested the workforce would not succeed. “Every grown up in the country watching this programme knows that this is a negotiation and I'm afraid it is not always the position that one party to that negotiation gets what they want.”
Sophie Raworth raised a different example in order to clarify where Labour stands. “What about GMB and Unite workers who are the unions representing the BA check-in staff - the ones who say they're going to go on strike, who balloted for strike this summer, who could ruin a lot of people's summer holidays? They're balloting for strike because of a ten per cent pay cut that was imposed on them during the pandemic. They want it reversed. Do you support them, will you stand with them?”
Lammy was clear.
David Lammy: “Many of us might want a rise of ten per cent - in truth, most people understand it's unlikely that you're gonna get that, it's a negotiation, and it absolutely would not be right, it would not be responsible opposition, if I suggested yes to every strike, you should get your -
Sophie Raworth: “- so do you support them or not?”
David Lammy: “No, I don't, no I don't it is a no, is a categorical no.”
Where David Lammy stands is shameful. He could find no way to offer any kind of support to these different groups of workers - in fact categorically said he did not support them - and he actively intervened to suggest that these people would not get want they want.
As George Dibb of the IPPR has highlighted, in the case of the question put by Sophie Raworth, “the BA staff are not striking for 10% inflation uplift, they're striking to have a 10% pandemic pay cut reversed. This was imposed by fire and rehire, an employment practice that a Labour government has pledged to outlaw.”
Why would someone vote for you when you cannot back them in the middle of a cost of living crisis?
Labour is inflicting completely avoidable wounds on itself over the understandable actions of working people trying defend their incomes, jobs and services during an intense phase of austerity. The reaction to the wages squeeze is going to continue and deepen and there is widespread concern across the party’s political spectrum about Labour’s positioning. “We are seeing a unique historic contraction in family incomes,” argues Jon Cruddas in the Observer today. “The rail strikes are arguably the canary down the coalmine. You cannot dodge this. Labour has to be supportive of those seeking to defend their living standards.” Cruddas adds: “the government is determined to ensure working people carry the can. This is what Labour has to contest. It is going to be tough, but there is no safe ground – no way of hiding from this, no tactical dodge. It was why the party was actually created. It requires real leadership.”
After Lammy’s media round, a more carefully-constructed approach was provided by Lou Haigh, the shadow transport secretary. “Under the Tories' inflation crisis, working people are facing the biggest pay cut in years,” she tweeted. “They have every right to fight for a fair pay rise and decent conditions. “Working people must not pay the price for Tory failure.”
But Labour is now in the reprehensible position that some MPs may be disciplined for supporting workers trying to protect their living standards - whilst an MP who categorically does not support them occupies one of the biggest jobs in the Shadow Cabinet.
2. In case you missed it
I wrote about some of these issues for the New Statesman on Friday. You can read it here.
And I was on Andrew Marr’s LBC programme, also talking about Labour, picket lines and the rail strikes earlier in the week. Watch a clip here.
3. Army dreamers
Progressive LibDems? Liberal Democrat education spokesperson has argued that the army could be deployed during rail strikes.
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