If you fight, you might lose

...But if you don't, you will always lose. 

These were the words of the last Bob Crow, who died unexpectedly a year ago today. 


Back when I was a wee student nurse, I met Bob Crow. I was involved in our local anti-cuts group, who met at the Rail, Maritime and Transport union office. Unbeknown to me, we were double booked with the RMT branch Annual General Meeting. 

I was running late and in uniform when I burst into the room, packed full of burly RMT members listening to Bob Crow in full flow about the McNulty report. 



You can imagine the response I got. 




Bob went ballistic at these (handful of) blokes. He went off on this tirade about how they should be honoured to be joined by their sister from the nurse's union. He then invited me to address the meeting about the attacks on the NHS. 

What a ledge! 

A lot of media criticises union leaders as being dinosaurs, but Bob Crow was only interested in progress. Progressing his members' interests, progressing the fight for a socialist transformation of society. 

His record speaks for itself. 

Imagine what sort of money we'd be on if there were nurses' leaders prepared to fight like Crow. 

TUSC council candidate for Twydall ward and RMT stalwart, Ivor Riddell gets a bit dewy-eyed when Bob's mentioned. 

It's Riddell, not Riddle. 

Now, I'm slightly more optimistic about the idea of ending exploitation than Crow was, but it shows  you the colour of his metal. He had supreme confidence in the potential and power of organised workers.

He recognised, well ahead of any other union leader in Britain, there was no political voice for working class people. He was a founder of TUSC. 

A year on, we take up the TUSC banner in the memory of Bob Crow. Standing in over 100 parliamentary seats and 1000 council seats, the greatest service we can do to the legacy of such a great man is fight on, for genuine party of working people.