Labour MPs on the rail picket lines
...and some of them even got a share of £890,000 from unions
LABOUR MPs who defied their leader to join rail strikers yesterday have received nearly £ 900,000 in union funding, analysis reveals.
Sir Keir Starmer has told his frontbench they should stay away from picket lines after the RMT launched the biggest rail strike since 1989.
But – in a serious threat to his authority – at least four of them ignored him. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also met striking workers in Edinburgh.
Less surprisingly, a number of hard-left Labour backbenchers also joined the strike action, including former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott.
She tweeted: ‘On the RMT union picket line at the Seven Sisters depot. ( But don’t tell Keir Starmer).’ Ten MPs from the Socialist Campaign Group – including Jeremy Corbyn supporters Rebecca Long-Bailey and Richard Burgon – proudly posed for pictures with striking RMT members at Victoria Station in London.
A total of 25 Labour MPs were pictured on picket lines yesterday.
Analysis found that 19 of these MPs have received donations from the unions totalling £890,717. Tory MP Gareth Bacon said: ‘Weak Keir Starmer’s authority is shot. As these figures show, Labour MPs are clearly on the side of the militant union barons filling their coffers rather than hard working commuters simply trying to get to work.’
The donations were all listed in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Some were direct personal donations, while others were to constituency parties and others were for chairing all-party groups and other administrative costs.
Top of the list by far was hardLeft MP Mrs Long- Bailey, who stood for the Labour leadership after the resignation of Mr Corbyn. The MP for Salford and Eccles declared £ 345,325 from unions between 2015 and 2021, much of it around the time of her leadership campaign in early 2020.
Most of her donations came from Unite, the union formerly headed by Len McCluskey. She also received money from the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the RMT.
Despite the funding, however, Mrs Long-Bailey lost to Sir Keir in the leadership race. Yesterday she tweeted: ‘I was out on the picket line at Victoria Station in London this morning in with RMT union workers and Socialist Campaign Group colleagues. Solidarity to all on strike today. All they want is fair pay and to protect jobs and services.’ She completed the message with an emoji of a raised fist.
Next was Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East, another hard-Left Labour member who came a distant third when he stood for deputy leader. He declared £97,219.52 in union donations between 2015 and 2022. Again, most of the cash was from Unite but he also received money from the GMB.
Yesterday he tweeted: ‘Great to pop to the picket line at Victoria Station this morning with other Labour MPs from the Socialist Campaign Group to show solidarity with RMT union workers forced by this Tory government into strike action to defend their pay, jobs and conditions.’
Ian Mearns, the Labour MP for Gateshead, declared £86,375 from the RMT between 2016 and 2020.
This was for ‘administration and coordination of the RMT Parliamentary Group, which I chair’.
Other high-profile union supporters include John McDonnell, who received £54,454.97 in union donations between 2014 and 2021.
The former shadow chancellor accepted most of his donations from Unite, but he also took money from the GMB, CWU, FBU and the RMT. Yesterday he tweeted: ‘Proud to join the RMT picket line this morning at West Ruislip in my [West London] borough. Solidarity to RMT union.’
Sir Keir’s office ordered all shadow ministers and junior parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) to stay away from the picket lines. The order stated: ‘Please be reminded that frontbenchers including PPSs’ should not be on picket lines.’
But four did so – shadow environment minister Alex Sobel, opposition whip Navendu Mishra, shadow defence PPS Paula Barker and shadow Northern Ireland PPS Kate Osborne. And although she did not attend a picket line, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner pointedly tweeted: ‘No one takes strike action lightly. I will always defend their absolute right to do so for fairness at work.’
Sir Keir did not tweet about the strike yesterday, and is thought to be waiting until after the end of the industrial action to make a decision on disciplinary action.
Asked whether individuals would be punished, Labour’s shadow Treasury minister Pat McFadden told Sky News: ‘That’s a matter for the whips and for Keir Starmer.’
Referring to the Scottish Labour leader, Miss Abbott tweeted: ‘What
‘Weak Starmer’s authority is shot’
‘To instruct MPs speaks volumes’
is Keir Starmer going to do, remove Anas as leader?’ Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: ‘The Labour Party was founded by the trade unions and we expect Labour MPs to defend workers, by words and by actions. To instruct Labour MPs not to be on picket lines with workers speaks volumes.’
Most of the Labour MPs who have been pictured on the picket lines are members of the hard-Left Socialist Campaign Group.
They include former shadow cabinet members under Mr Corbyn, including Miss Abbott, Mr Burgon, Mrs Long-Bailey, Clive Lewis, Mr McDonnell, Dan Carden, Andy McDonald and Ian Lavery.
The list also includes Tahir Ali, Ian Byrne, Kim Johnson, Zarah Sultana, Rachael Maskell, Mr Mearns, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Beth Winter, Mick Whitley, Nadia Whittome, Margaret Greenwood and Mohammad Yasin. Including the members of Sir Keir’s frontbench team, that brings the total to 25.
Miss Winter, Miss Whittome and Mr Byrne did not receive any union money. It is unclear if another three were given cash.