Evening summary
- The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has sacked one of his frontbench after he appeared on a picket line. Sam Tarry, shadow transport minister and MP for Ilford, joined workers on a picket line and made several posts to social media, as well as appearing on Sky News and Channel 4 News.
- The Labour party said Tarry’s removal was not about picket lines but about “collective responsibility”. A spokesperson said this includes media appearances being approved and speaking to agreed frontbench positions.
- Tarry said he would continue to campaign for a Labour victory in a statement with any criticism of Starmer’s position conspicuously absent.
- The Aslef union announced a fresh strike on Saturday 13 August. Train drivers working for nine companies will strike for 24 hours over pay.
- Further rail strikes are already planned for the coming weeks. About 6,000 train drivers belonging to the Aslef union across eight train companies will join the rail dispute when they strike on 30 July. A repeat of Wednesday’s action by RMT members at Network Rail and 14 train companies is planned for 18 and 20 August. Tube workers will also take strike action again on 19 August.
- The secretary of state for transport, Grant Shapps, said “passengers are being taken for a ride” by these “extreme hard-left unions”. When asked by the BBC if he was going down the road of legislation to make it more difficult to strike, Shapps responded: “Yes, and we’ve already started to do that.”
- Shapps also ruled out meeting rail unions.“This is just a game by the unions,” he said in an interview on Sky News.
- Other MPs joined picket lines or expressed solidarity with striking workers across the country. The MPs included John McDonnell, Paula Barker and Ruth Jones.
- The shadow transport minister Sam Tarry joined striking workers on the picket line at Euston station. Tarry said: “It can’t be accepted any more, that people just have to accept that inflation is out of control. The government’s doing nothing on the cost of living crisis.”
- The RMT’s union leader, Mick Lynch, said the proposals they had at the moment were unacceptable, and said the decision was not in the hands of a secret body, but in the hands of “the ordinary men and women who make up our union” out striking today.
- Network Rail’s chief executive, Andrew Haines, said he believed RMT negotiators were being overruled by those at the top of the union, and the deal should be put to the membership.
Updated
Sam Tarry, who has been sacked as a Labour frontbencher after joining a picket line, has said he is “proud” to stand with striking rail workers.
In a statement, he said: “These key workers kept our train services running throughout the pandemic, and were among Britain’s Covid heroes alongside the NHS and other public services.
“Those same workers have been forced to take action because they’re faced with a cost-of-living crisis and rampant inflation caused by the government’s mismanagement of our economy, leaving millions struggling to pay their bills and provide for their families, made worse by the fact that callous and incompetent ministers refuse to even negotiate with their trade unions.
“This dispute would not be taking place under a Labour government, which would ensure that rail workers receive a fair wage.
“It has been a privilege to serve on Labour’s frontbench for the past two years and to have had the opportunity to speak up for hard-pressed workers who deserve so much better than the treatment they’ve received from this corrupt and out-of-touch government.
“I remain committed to supporting the striking rail workers, and campaigning for a Labour victory at the next general election, which I will fight for relentlessly from the backbenches.”
Updated
