Bob Crow has died

[minibmw2010]

Wow ... didn't see this one coming.

//www.news.sky.com/story/1223973/rmt-union-leader-bob-crow-dead

[minibmw2010]

Sorry, rubbish link:

news.sky.com/story/1223973/rmt-union-leader-bob-crow-dead

Hopefully this works

[minibmw2010]

Maybe this time

[Sparklingbrook]

He was only 52 as well.

I have seen him interviewed a lot, but I'm not well up on transport union matters.

[LineRunner]

There are some unpleasant comments about his death on another thread. I hope this one can discuss his legacy as a union leader. I think he was very combative, which isn't a crime, and often deliberately misunderstood by elements of the media precisely because he was so successful in securing deals for his members.

[Sparklingbrook]

Oh no Line. Really?

[LineRunner]

Yeah, the thread in Chat.

[claig]

Very sad shocking news. RIP.
I really liked him and will miss his role in public life.

[Floralnomad]

Very sad , whether you agreed with him or not he was a man who has stood up for what he believed in .RIP .

[funnyossity]

In his response to the news Ken Livingstone points out RMT members are only working class people left in London with decent pay.

I admired Bob Crowe. RIP.

[ballsballsballs]

:( RIP.

[Kewcumber]

Why do people make unpleasant comments about people who die? Even if you knew them personally and thought they were unpleasant, why show yourself up like that even Boris JOhnstone said "Whatever our political differences, and there were many, this is tragic news."

[minibmw2010]

I have been a passenger commuting into London regularly disrupted by strikes, disputes, etc. BUT I fully respected and understood the why, etc. and if I'd worked for Network Rail I'd have definitely wanted him on my side !!

[claig]

Bob Crow was unique. He said what he thought and felt, was witty and funny, and challenged the cosy political consensus. I loved watching him on TV because you knew you would hear the truth.

Now we have one less voice for the truth, one less voice for the people. It is a terrible shame that he has gone so soon.

When they made Bob, they threw away the mould. We won't see his like again for a long, long time.

Terribly sad.
May he rest in peace.

[meditrina]

I didn't agree with his stance, but I do admire someone who has principles and sticks to them. And it provided a (sorely needed) counterbalance to short term politics of spin and focus group.

[ProfondoRosso]

He had balls. Whatever one feels about unions and union membership (personally, I'm pro), it's important that we understand how lucky we are to actually be allowed to organise ourselves in unions without threat of prosecution or worse. RIP.

[Aboyandabunny]

So sorry to read this. Ken Livingstone makes a very valid point.
RIP Bob Crow.

[Kewcumber]

I admire many people with the strength of their own convictions and who are prepared to stand up and be counted. Even if I vociferously disagree with them even Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Scargill (and I've had a few words to say about both of them in my time)

Wishing people dead/silenced who don't agree with you smacks of immaturity or not having the strength of your own convictions to me. And not something that anyone in a democracy should be encouraging.

[claig]

Exactly, Kewcumber, we need people of conviction who are prepared to challenge the cosy political consensus and the status quo. We need people of passion like Scargill, Thatcher and Crow. The more of those people we have, the more likely things will improve for people.

Crow was a force of nature, a whirlwind, a tornado who ripped through the complacency and challenged it with the truth. They couldn't tie him down.

Who will challenge them now?

[telsa]

This is awful news. he was one of the very few trade union leaders who stood up for his members. He was also one of the very few working class voices you ever hear being taken moderately seriously on the media. It's a massive shame and I hope that the RMT elects another militant as soon as possible, because the workers are suffering such a massive shafting. Feel awful for his children and family, on a personal level.

[meditrina]

I've noticed that the only politicians whose tributes are being quoted in every broadcast are Ken and Boris. Others are sometimes mentioned, but they seem flimsy somehow.

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

A tragic loss. Democracy NEEDS people like Bob Crow. At 52 he should have had many more years of being a thorn in the establishment's side ahead of him.

[funnyossity]

He wasn't a Labour man meditrina.

[mercibucket]

very sad news on a personal level for his family, and a political level.

[Isitmebut]

There was something clearly wrong within when he had just said that he thought MP's were worth the 11% pay rise the pay review board had ordered.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26513673