Mick Lynch: Starmer must show voters what his values are ahead of election
5 August 2023, 14:54
The RMT general secretary took aim at the Labour leader for his stance on policies such as tackling public sector pay disputes.
Sir Keir Starmer must show the public what his values are if he is to win over voters in the next general election, union boss Mick Lynch has said.
The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union was in conversation with journalist Graeme Spiers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Saturday.
He took aim at the Labour leader’s stance on tackling public sector pay disputes, urging Sir Keir to “be bold about his vision”.
Sir Keir has in recent weeks refused to commit to further spending despite calls from unions, however he said a Labour government would negotiate to settle public sector pay disputes, such as junior doctor and rail worker strikes, but did not set out specific details on how the party would do this.
Discussing his “beef” with Sir Keir at the New Town Theatre in the Scottish capital, Mr Lynch said the Labour Party was “scared of change”, adding that the Labour leader must set out policies that the public care about to win votes from the SNP in Scotland.
He said: “I don’t expect Keir Starmer to say everything that I want on my list of policies – what he needs to do is show that he has values on things like trade union rights which are being attacked, public sector housing, on funding the NHS, standing with working people.
“He’s got to show people like this audience, and if you forgive me, especially people who voted SNP, that he wants to make a difference, that he’s with them and the policies and for the needs of the day.
“He has to be bold about his vision.”
He added: “Because he’s not shown any values, you think you’re on to a loser before he’s even got into power.
“That’s the real fear for everybody, especially in the trade union movement.”
He urged Sir Keir to set out policies which would reform anti-union laws and combat zero-hour contracts.
The union leader also said he was “really disappointed” with the SNP Government due to their position on a just transition from gas and oil in the North Sea “not being strong enough”.
He added: “The SNP has not done enough about transitioning between oil and gas to the new economy of wind generation and alternative energy.”
