Get The Tories Out: But ‘Be Prepared for a Decade of Struggle Under Labour,’ says Mick Lynch

Get The Tories Out, But Don’t Expect Smooth Sailing with Labour

“Vote the Tories Out, But Brace for a Decade of Struggle Under Labour,” Warns Mick Lynch

In a rousing keynote address at the RMT’s Hull AGM, General Secretary Mick Lynch delivered a message of both hope and caution. While urging voters to oust the Tories, he simultaneously prepared his members for a prolonged fight under a potential Labour government.

Lynch began by commending RMT members for their “combative spirit” in the face of Tory hostility. Their resilience, he noted, secured vital victories: a hard-won pay deal and the preservation of ticket offices. “Last year, the challenges were piling up, with our members and our union being attacked on all fronts,” Lynch recalled. “The ticket office closures were meant to be the government’s knockout punch in the rail dispute. But they over-reached, and we defeated them.”

Turning to the impending general election, Lynch painted a grim picture of another Tory term: “the end of collective bargaining and negotiations on the railways.” However, his portrayal of a Labour alternative was far from rosy.

He said: “A change of government gives us a better chance to fight to improve the lives of our communities, to improve our public transport network and to improve our members’ jobs, pay and conditions.”

Despite the watering down of aspects of the New Deal, Mr Lynch was clear that it “will be significantly beneficial, including employment rights from day one and repealing the 2016 trade union act. The party’s rail policy, he added, “promises to change the industrial relations framework, ending the attacks on us and providing for decent conditions, regarding the railway workforce as an asset to be nurtured rather than a cost to be cut.”

While praising deputy leader Angela Rayner and shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh, Lynch tempered expectations. He warned that a Labour victory would mark “the beginning and not the end” of the union’s struggle.

“We know that big business and the corporations are all over Labour,” he cautioned. “They will be doing everything in their power to dilute, delay, and destroy these policies, not just over the next five years but over the next 10. So, we must be prepared for a decade of struggle under a Labour government.”

Looking ahead, Lynch vowed to position the RMT at the “front rank” of the trade union movement, inspiring others to drive societal change. He asserted, “This political and economic consensus must be smashed, and Labour must produce an alternative economic and industrial policy, because what [it is] currently offering will not fix the problems.”

In a rallying cry to close his speech, Lynch declared: “Now is a time for change, but we, the working people, have to build it.”

This address serves as a stark reminder that while electoral change is necessary, it’s far from sufficient. Lynch’s words challenge us to look beyond the ballot box, to remain critical and engaged, and to prepare for the long, arduous journey of activism and advocacy – regardless of which party holds the keys to Number 10. After all, in the world of politics, promises are often written in sand, and it’s up to us to ensure they’re carved in stone.

As we all know under Starmer, Labour has developed a habit of flip-flopping on policies faster than a fish out of water, What’s promised today might be yesterday’s chip paper by the time they reach Downing Street. And as Mick Lynch states, “get the Tories out but prepare for a decade of struggle under a Labour government”, after all, it’s just a change of guard…

Paul Knaggs

Editor, founder, Labour Heartlands, Citizen journalist. LeFT wing political refugee. Fighting a constant struggle with dyslexia that’s overcome with a burning desire to speak out against the corrupt political system and the social injustices it creates. Advocate for Free speech and open, accountable, democracy. #GTTO

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