Yesterday, 21st June, was the summer solstice. It was also Mick Lynch day. Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT was on the picket line with his members on the first day of the national rail strikes. He and his members are fighting for a decent pay rise in the face of 9% inflation, worsening terms and conditions, and redundancies, which the rail employers are trying to push through at the behest of Boris Johnson's government.
But he also spent much of the day on television being 'interviewed' by mainstream media hacks such as Kay Burley from Sky TV. The questioning Lynch faced was predictably hostile but also largely inane. The sort of 'political' inanity that 'journalists' routinely get away with in the UK. Stupid questions designed to embarrass and undermine someone standing up for workers taking industrial action.
Richard Madeley, on GMB, kicked off by asking Lynch if he was a Marxist. Apparently, this came from a Tory MP. Lynch replied that Madeley was talking "twaddle" much to his questioner's dismay. I doubt that the MP or Madeley have a clue what Marxism is but this is a routine line of attack used by the hard right to undermine leftists and trade unionists.
Then we had Burley interviewing Lynch on a picket line. He was standing in the sunshine with half a dozen pickets. She asked him if he was "flustered", an odd question when he was clearly calm and collected, and then referred to the miner's strike as if the peaceful picket behind him was the Battle of Orgreave. " I can't believe this line of questioning" - he dealt with her superbly, stuck to the facts, and left her looking flustered.
One of the many highlights of the day was a session with Chris Philp, Minister for Technology, on Newsnight. Like all Tory ministers, Philp lied about the strike and Lynch told him he was a liar repeatedly. Top marks for that!
Mick's superb performance was lauded by many thousands on Twitter and he's still trending today. It was an object lesson in how to deal with the billionaires' kiss-ass 'journos'. A new term has now entered the English language - "A Mick Lynching". From now on 21st June should be known as Mick Lynch Day and be added to our calendars as a new bank holiday. Superb stuff! 😊
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