Mick Lynch locked horns with a Daily Mail journalist on Tuesday and denied that he is a “grinch” for announcing strike action near Christmas.
As RMT’s general secretary, Lynch has become the face of the walkouts since they began in June, known for impressively pushing back against criticism of the coordinated action.
Now, two 48-hour strikes have been organised for mid-December and two more in January, as rail employees call for better pay, job security, and improved working conditions.
So when he appeared to be asked by an unnamed Daily Mail journalist about being dubbed Mick “Grinch”, he provided a characteristically eloquent response...
According to a clip being shared on social media, Lynch replied: “Well I expect that from yourself, that’s the kind of quality journalism I’ve come to expect from your particular dark corner of Fleet Street.
“So call us what you want and no doubt you will call us what you want, and you called Mr Mosley one of the finest things that ever happened as I remember, when you were back in the Blackshirts.”
This seems to be a reference to Sir Oswald Mosley, a former politician and British fascist leader who led street-fighters, who were dubbed the blackshirts, in the 1930s.
Lynch continued: “So you can back them, you can back us.
“I’m not the Grinch – I’m a trade union official, and I’m determined to get a deal.”
Lynch has continued to point the blame at the government and rail companies throughout attempts at negotiations, and blamed the Department for Transport for not taking more action.
Amid criticism about the consequences for Christmas, he also claimed: “The right-wing press will regurgitate every line that the train operating companies and RDG and the government put out without question.”
“I’m not dragging anything out, we could get a settlement very quickly – even this week,” Lynch added.
The RMT general secretary had a similar clash on ITV’s Good Morning Britain with host Susanna Reid, when she also dubbed him “a grinch who stole Christmas”.
She began: “There are going to be passengers earning a lot less who won’t be able to get to work because of the train strike, or won’t be able to get home to see their families.”
“Two five-day strikes at the most sensitive time of the year.
“How are you not the grinch who stole Christmas?”
Lynch replied: “There’s no good time to hold a strike.”
“We’ve left the Christmas period free deliberately. We cannot leave this strike action to go cold. We’ve not been on strike for two months, we’ve moved other dates to facilitate important national and public events.”