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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Robert Booth Social affairs editor

Mick Lynch’s PR war is key to determining if rail strikes will succeed

Mick Lynch RMT YouGov
Mick Lynch and striking RMT members
Mick Lynch (second left) is ‘concise and focused and good at seeming like a human being’, according to one digital strategist. Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images

As commuters struggled with strike-crippled railways this week, Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT union, established himself as the central figure in a raucous public relations battle.

Shuttling between picket lines and TV studios, the previously little-known union boss garnered a cult following online for his cool performances justifying his members’ claims on pay and conditions while Conservative opponents attacked the RMT in more heated terms.

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