“If you carry on with failed policies of the past which perpetuated poverty, you’ll end up with the same thing”
The General Secretary of the RMT, Mick Lynch, has warned the Labour government not to replicate Tory policies, as the party says that tough times lie ahead after inheriting a fiscal black hole from the Tories.
Speaking exclusively to LFF, Lynch warned that ‘if you use Tory rules you’re going to get Tory policies’, after the Labour Party received criticism for policies such as its refusal thus far to remove the two-child benefit cap and cuts to winter fuel payments.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the government has inherited a £22bn black hole, a claim backed by the IFS. The party has said it will only back policies it can fund and will not take risks with the public finances.
Lynch told LFF: “If you carry on with failed policies of the past which perpetuated poverty, you’ll end up with the same thing, on all the issues that are facing us, whether it’s welfare funding or investment in our infrastructure or the economic growth that they are talking about, they’re not going to get that unless they raise the revenue and invest.
“We’ve been calling for an alternative economic strategy and industrial strategy and that’s what will help the country and resolve the problems we face.”
He did however ask for people to give the new government more time: “They’ve only been in 10 weeks and they can turn things around, they’ve got to make a new decision on these policies in my view and we’ve got to persuade them to do that and they’ve got to come up with a tax policy that is efficient.”
Asked about whether he thought Labour’s New Deal for Workers goes far enough, he replied: “It won’t go far enough in the first instance, we need continuous cycles of legislation, what the Tories did to us from 1980s onwards was to bring in constant rounds of trade unions reforms, so this is the first instalment and the RMT is looking for more instalments.
“It doesn’t go far enough but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That’s why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward’s work.
We still need another 117 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
