Mick Lynch

[KangFang]

Anyone else here loving his work?

So he can't be intelligent because he doesn't agree with your opinion of what constitutes a "good thing", is that it?

He is a very smart and articulate advocate for the members of his union.

The government want this fight, the government want strikes. They are trying to pit worker against worker, so we stop talking about dodgy PPE contracts, housing, poverty, the NHS, police shortages...

Absolutely this.

Yes
Divide and conquer.

I thought that we'd moved on from calling people "thick" because they disagree with you. Obviously not...

I thought that we'd moved on from calling people "thick" because they disagree with you. Obviously not...

Where did I say "thick"? I didn't, did I...

Where did I say "thick"? I didn't, did I...

You implied it with 'no-one intelligent'.

You ought to try and respect the fact that other people have different views to you and not belittle them.

I'm not a Brexiteer by the way, but I respect other points of view and don't think half the electorate lacks intelligence.

I'm not a Brexiteer by the way, but I respect other points of view and don't think half the electorate lacks intelligence.

Well I do think Brexiteers lack intelligence.

As you respect other points of view then I'm sure you'll respect my point of view on that.

*Well I do think Brexiteers lack intelligence.

As you respect other points of view then I'm sure you'll respect my point of view*

Of course I respect your pov. My point was that you ought also to respect the pov of others and not dismiss half the electorate as lacking in intelligence. You ought to try a little tolerance some time.

It is very difficult with Brexit. Obviously we can't say that Brexiteers lack intelligence, a wide range of people voted for it. But we can all see as plain as day that Brexit was a fucking stupid idea. I can not bring myself to say 'mmm, I respect your point of view' because I don't. I accept it but I don't respect it. I respect your right to vote freely but I don't respect what you voted for. Brexit is a heap of shit and we will all be far poorer because of it. It has already cost the average household £4,250.

I can be tolerant of people but not tolerant of Brexit. I think Brexit was stupid, is stupid and will continue to be stupid.

I don't agree that we have to respect views. We have to respect people, but not views. If you think Brexit is a good idea, I don't respect that view, no. It is quite clearly a very, very shit thing. It was a very large geopolitical and economic mistake and the UK has really harmed itself.

People can be clever and still hold views that aren't clever, particularly if like Lexiters they're labouring under a delusion.

Hmmmm
Just had a convo with a Brexiteer friend and she regurgitated stuff about asylum seekers being economic migrants. I stated the stats about the high percentage of asylum claims approved meaning they are usually genuine asylum seekers but that didn't register at all. She went on about them passing safe countries to come here. I pointed out there's no safe legal routes to claim asylum here and also that we take in a fraction of the number that other European countries do. Tumbleweed. l also mentioned that in the NHS we're importing nurses from Asia and Africa now it's difficult to recruit from the EU due to Brexit. We've recently got 20 such people. Just a blank response. I give up.

A lot of people base their opinions on the opinions of those they most identify with. Most people don’t have the time to carefully examine the facts before they form their opinion. They go with their gut in most cases and once someone has formed an opinion it’s very hard to change it. The best way to try is to calmly, clearly and persistently present the evidence to the contrary and eventually, very slowly, people will listen and hearts and minds will change. It’s going to be a slow burn but Mick Lynch is straight talking, articulate, knows his subject and has the platform to make real change. He is the first person in the public eye for a long time who has given me hope in a sea of politicians who never answer a direct question, don’t seem to know what they’re talking about and are reading off a script.

He is the first person in the public eye for a long time who has given me hope in a sea of politicians who never answer a direct question, don’t seem to know what they’re talking about and are reading off a script.

Those people in the public eye, whose stock in trade is soundbites, down right lies and flannel, sound ever more ridiculous in comparison.

Exactly. We as a population have sleepwalked into a ridiculous situation. Mick Lynch is hopefully starting to wake us all up.

can be tolerant of people but not tolerant of Brexit. I think Brexit was stupid, is stupid and will continue to be stupid.

brexit isn’t a stupid idea for those that wanted to implement the change. For them it was a clever idea, look at the wealth at the top that has been created from their wealth - that wasn’t stupid for them, and never will be. They were facing changes by the EU that would have negatively effected them.

what it had effected was the masses, it’s made them worse of and changed aspects of their lives.

with casts amount of propaganda though they were convinced to vote to leave,

Has ML put his union members in a better position by leaving EU and will the industrial action voted for by its members be more effective as U.K. is not part of freedom of movement?

There wouldn't have been a load of workers from the EU ready to use free movement rights to replace them if that's what you mean, there just aren't that many people with the specialist training needed. The same reason why getting agency workers in to prevent strike disruption hasn't materialised. But obviously the ordinary workers of the union are suffering in the same way as the rest of the population from the detrimental economic impact Brexit is having on the UK. So no, the union's support for Brexit hasn't put them in a better position.

You're right though, support for Brexit isn't stupid if you're eg Jacob Rees Mogg and don't give a shit how badly you fuck up the country if you make a few quid out of it.

I’m surprised to read here that Mick Lynch is a supporter of Brexit, it would be interesting to read more about this if anyone has a link to him explaining why he thinks it’s a good thing because I am yet to hear anyone make an argument for it that I’ve understood. As it’s too late and we’re all stuck with it now, maybe Mick can give me hope on that front too.

RMT's reasons are in a press release on their website and have been linked here before. Essentially the same reasons that old-school socialists such as Tony Benn and Dennis Skinner were opposed to the EU.

Brexit is a heap of shit and we will all be far poorer because of it. It has already cost the average household £4,250.
How have you arrived at that figure?

How have you arrived at that figure?

I don't know where the poster got the figure from, but it doesn't sound wildly inaccurate to me.

28 million households.
£130 billion lost due to Brexit so far according to some sources?

Just had a read-through of the later posts on this thread. I posted way up thread, just saying I thought/think he's great etc.
The latest posts mostly seem to relate to Brexit. It doesn't surprise me in the least that Mick Lynch voted leave, nor does it lower my opinion of him, in spite of the fact that I voted remain.
I was very aware of the Lexit (left-wing Brexit) point of view, on the run up to the referendum vote. I watched a video on YouTube titled Lexit The Movie. It may still be available to view. For a little while I did consider voting leave for left-wing reasons. I ended up voting remain, mostly as an anti-racism vote. Also I became very concerned about the Irish border, and I cherish free movement. But on some aspects, I was a bit of hand-on-nose remainer. There are many things about the EU I struggle with as a leftie - not least The Common Agricultural Policy - which strongly favours large agri-business, environment-wrecking farms; and leaves small organic growers without a penny. It also makes life very difficult for growers in the developing world.
I'm vastly younger than Mick Lynch, so I was exposed more to the idea that lefties support EU membership. But, I totally understand that Mick Lynch and his peers would have been exposed to a lifetime of considering the EU a neo-liberal project, and seeing its dismantling as a socialist ambition. So, I get it.
Besides all that, the referendum was six years ago. I don't dwell on it these days, nor do I think a person's choice that day defines them forevermore. I'm very glad I voted to remain. But I don't think it was, or is, as black and white as many would have us believe. I'm not too proud to admit either that I didn't understand many of the issues, and part of my reason for voting remain was 'better the devil you know' type thinking. There were many different reasons to vote either remain or leave. I'm honestly far more interested in the character of a person, than in which box they placed their cross that fateful day in 2016. Mick Lynch has more than proven his merit, regardless of how he voted. In my personal, very humble opinion 🤷

@WanderingFruitWonderer - what a very balanced, thoughtful and articulate post. So refreshing! I agree with everything you say.

@StrawberryPot thank you so much for your kind response ☺️

@WanderingFruitWonderer

Yes, an excellent post.

This is exactly where the left and right meet they:

consider the EU a neo-liberal project

Just like in France when they had the Gilet Jaune protests when the right and left both agreed that they did not like what Macron stood for.

I also agree with:

There were many different reasons to vote either remain or leave.

Most people on here just think that Leavers are racist idiots and will not entertain their opinions at all. Lots of non-white people voted Leave, but they must all be racist.