Mick Lynch RMT

UK: The National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers has given qualified backing to Labour ahead of the general election on July 4.

RMT issued a statement on June 5 saying the Labour party supports ‘public ownership and reintegration of large parts of the railway’, and while the union is not affiliated to any political party, it ‘will back Labour and socialist candidates’.

General Secretary Mick Lynch said he believes it is ‘in the interests of working people to get the Tories out which means getting a Labour-led government in, and our members will need to campaign and vote accordingly’.

However, he added that there would be ‘no blank cheques for Labour and we also challenge Labour to provide an alternative, coherent and credible economic strategy that radically challenges the current orthodoxy on spending and borrowing so that we can properly fund our industries and public services’.