Sam Tarry sacked. We need to talk about Starmer (again)
The sacking as Shadow Transport spokesman of Sam Tarry for joining RMT picket lines and speaking to the media is a disgraceful act by Keir Starmer whatever sophistry ‘Labour Source’ deploys about it.
If Labour cant stand up for workers defending jobs and safety what is it for?
Of course those of us on the left have no great expectations of Labour leaders. Harold Wilson, the first I remember, came from the left. However, to give one example, he attacked the 1966 Seaman’s strike as politically motivated (one of the leaders was John Prescott). That led to the Donovan Commission on trade unions which in turn became Ted Heath’s Industrial Relations Act. Returned to Office in 1974 a social contract between the Government and union leaders was agreed. It aimed to curb the militancy that had returned Labour in 1974 along with wages. The result was the election of Thatcher in 1979.
Blair never claimed to be on the left (once leader) but didn’t concern himself overmuch with the left either. It was the Iraq War that caused the schism.
The case against Starmer is damning. He has a great moving right show on policy the ten pledges he used to get elected leader long ditched. When the issue was raised with him by an interviewer this week he claimed this was because of the pandemic. Starmer is a lawyer and he really needed a better brief. Do Sunak or Truss use the pandemic as a reason why they can’t advance a raft of right-wing policies?
Finally there was Starmer’s visit to Liverpool. Around a million have seen the video of veteran socialist Audrey White confronting him about his moving right show. Starmer does not respond but rather looks as if he wants his nanny. One other recent party leader and PM would probably have done the same, Theresa May
Does any of this matter in the wider scheme of things. It will have an impact but given the debacle of the Tory leadership contest, where Starmer has made some good points, not as much as we on the left might hope.
It would still be better to have a Labour Government to argue with, about what it had done or not done than the Tories.
The real job now though as Sam Tarry understood and Starmer does not is to stand with those putting the heat on the Tories this summer, the RMT, ASLEF,CWU and others
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