Labor MP Kate Osborne, who is the parliamentary private secretary to Northern Ireland Shadow Secretary Peter Kyle, joined an RMT picket line, defying orders from Kir Starmer’s office. (See 9.31 a.m.) Asked if she would face disciplinary action, Pat McFadden, the shadow secretary of the Treasury, told Sky News: “This is a matter of whips and Keir Starmer.”
“Do not drive in hiding,” Unite leader tells Starmer as Labor orders front benches not on rail
Good morning. Rail strikes are set to be the dominant political story of the week and today – which sees the first day of a national strike by RMT members as well as a London Underground strike – could see the worst upheaval of the week. My colleague Geneva Abdul writes the stand-alone blog about train strikes, which will cover all aspects of strikes – political interventions, but also what is happening in the transport network and the experiences of passengers. Inevitably there will be some overlap with this blog, where I will cover dispute politics as well as other, non-rail Westminister stories. For most people, the main question that arises from the strike is, “Will I be able to go to work?” But for the class of political obsessions, what is most interesting is: “Who will take responsibility?” Boris Johnson desperately wants to convince the public that Kir Starmer is responsible. Seeking to revive the popular memories of the winter of 1978, the Prime Minister has made a case based on three conditions: 1) The Labor Party will not condemn the strike. 2) the party is affiliated with the trade union movement (although not the RMT, which was excluded from the Labor Party almost 20 years ago). and 3) some Labor MPs said they supported RMT’s departure. But it is still very difficult to land this argument, as Conservative MP Mark Jenkinson (a staunch supporter of Johnson) showed this morning when he posted it on Twitter. Jenkinson was only elected in 2019, but even he must remember that Conservative or Conservative governments have been in power since 2010. In fact, people normally blame the government when services go wrong, and even Johnson needs to realize that the “blame Starmer” strategy will only lead him so far. Public perceptions of unions are more positive than they used to be and you need to be close to retirement age these days to have a good memory of the winter of resentment. But Labor is still nervous, and last night Sienna Rogers at Politics Home revealed that the front benches have said not to engage in conversation. Starmer’s office sent a message to the shadowy cabinet members saying: We have strong lines. We do not want to see these strikes proceed with the resulting public outcry. The government failed to participate in any negotiations. However, we must also show leadership and to this end, we remind you that frontbenchers include [parliamentary private secretaries] should not be on picket lines. Please talk to all your team members to remind them and confirm with me that you did. As expected, this has angered the people of the left. Last night, Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, which in the past was the largest donor to the Labor Party, posted them on Twitter. The Labor Party was founded by the unions and we expect the Labor MPs to defend the workers, in words and deeds. The instruction to the deputies of the Labor Party not to be in pickets with the workers says a lot. 1/2 – Sharon Graham (@UniteSharon) June 20, 2022 You do not drive hiding. Nobody respects that. It’s time to decide which side you are on. Workers or bad bosses? 2/2 – Sharon Graham (@UniteSharon) June 20, 2022 Here’s the agenda for the day. 9.30 am: Boris Johnson chairs the cabinet. 11.30: Downing Street briefs the lobby. 11.30: Foreign Minister Liz Truss receives questions from the public. After 4 pm: Members begin a debate on a Labor resolution that would require the Committee on Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs to appoint its own ministerial code adviser if Boris Johnson does not replace Lord Gade as his own independent adviser on the interests of ministers after two months. I try to watch the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I will be more likely to find it. I’m trying to answer questions and if it is of general interest, I will post the question and answer over the line (ATL), although I can not promise to do it for everyone. If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m at @AndrewSparrow. Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected] Updated at 09.36 BST
