Labour MP Sam Tarry goaded party leader Sir Keir Starmer today for sacking him in a row over support for striking workers – by attending another picket line with predecessor Jeremy Corbyn.
The Ilford South MP told striking BT staff it was ‘good to be back’ as he joined Communication Workers Union (CWU) members and the exiled former party leader in central London.
Mr Tarry, the partner of Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner, was fired as a shadow transport minister on Wednesday after joining striking RMT rail workers who crippled Britain.
It has sparked a furious row between unions and the party hierarchy. Militant bosses have threatened to pull their funding and use their weight to alter party rules to force Labour to embrace workers planning a summer of discontent.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said that the action taken by the Labour leadership was ‘disgraceful’.
But Sir Keir has said to be seen as fit to be a government the opposition should keep their distance from the strikes.
Last night he defended his ‘straightforward ‘ sacking of Tarry for breaching collective responsibility and making up policy in a round of media interviews.
Mr Tarry told Sky News today that he was surprised by his removal.
Addressing the CWU rally as thousands of BT and Openreach workers strike in a dispute over pay, Mr Tarry said Labour Party needed to be clear they would defend workers right to the hilt and extend their rights in the workplace.
‘We need a Labour leadership that is prepared to stand up and does not look the other way when BT workers are going to foodbanks,’ he said.
The Ilford South MP told striking BT staff it was ‘good to be back’ as he joined Communication Workers Union (CWU) members and the exiled former party leader in central London.
Mr Tarry told Sky News today that he was surprised by his removal as a shadow transport minister
Last night Sir Keir defended his ‘straightforward ‘ sacking of Tarry for breaching collective responsibility and making up policy in a round of media interviews.
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell (left) and Jeremy Corbyn (right), the former Labour leader and now independent MP, joined Communication Workers Union (CWU) members on the picket line at BT Tower
He added: ‘Let’s be absolutely clear – it is not good enough, it is not good enough for the Labour Party to say that we probably won’t be able to give you a pay rise in line with inflation. Because that means the Labour Party is committed to cut people’s wages in real terms and that is totally unacceptable.’
He added: ‘If I’m sacked for having said that live on TV and not supposed to [have] been on that picket line then people need to have a really hard think about what the Labour Party is for.
‘Because for me the clue is in the name: Labour. On the side of working people.’
He added that ‘things were changing’ and it was ‘time to fight back’ and ‘reclaim our party’.
Mr Tarry’s sacking was met with fury by unions and the left-wing of the party.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: ‘The actions of the Labour leadership is disgraceful. We will have to deal with that.
‘I think what will happen is that people will see through Labour unless they change their position because it seems to me that Labour want to win an election without any principles or any policies and people won’t accept that’.
He added: ‘Clearly Labour are in a position now that I think they’ve set out their path. It’s not the same path that we’re going down.’
Labour former shadow chancellor John McDonnell described it as a ‘severe mistake’, accused Sir Keir of ‘misreading the mood of the public’ and backed calls for a general strike.
‘This is a completely unnecessary row that’s been invented just at a time when the Tories are tearing themselves apart, and we’ve got the maximum opportunity I think to gain an advantage in the polls that will build the support to take us into a government,’ the MP for Hayes and Harlington told Sky News.
‘This is an unnecessary dispute and whoever has advised Keir Starmer on this, I think he has made a severe mistake.’
He added: ‘I think they’ve misread the mood within the labour and trade union movement. But I also think they have misread the mood amongst the general public.’
Asked about the general strike proposed by RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, the former shadow minister said he said he supported ‘co-ordinated action’.
Sir Keir said it was ‘quite right’ for trade unions to ‘stick up for their members’ when he was asked whether he would agree with a general strike if Liz Truss goes through with her pledge to crack down on the unions should she become prime minister.
Sam Tarry, the partner of the party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, was fired as a shadow transport minister last night for a ‘breach of collective responsibility’ after he joined workers in London.
The Ilford South MP turned up at London’s Euston station ‘in solidarity’ with the 40,000 RMT members who caused chaos for millions on Wednesday by shutting down at least half of Britain’s rail network today.
Calling Ms Truss’s policy ‘completely wrong’, the Labour leader told reporters: ‘Of course, trade unions are right to stick up for support and negotiate on behalf of their members. I’m fully supportive of that, working with our trade unions.’
The firing of Mr Tarry, who is in a relationship with deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner, drew condemnation from unions, Labour MPs and other party figures.
Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, warned that the party needs to be ‘careful’ that it does not end up undermining working people ‘fighting to protect their incomes’.
He told GB News: ‘Labour needs to be careful here. We can’t ever be a party that undermines working people fighting to protect their incomes and a cost-of-living crisis.
‘If we’re not careful, that’s how we might come over.’
Mr Corbyn, the former Labour leader and now independent MP, said: ‘I think the duty of Labour MPs is to support its affiliates. And the CWU is an affiliated union, they’ve asked for our help and support and I’m here today.’
Addressing the rally later, he added: ‘Our job is to unite everyone in this campaign for real social justice. It’s called socialism where you don’t leave anyone behind.’