I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but…

YEARS ago, there was a Not The Nine O’Clock News sketch where two politicians were calling each other every shade of shit… until one died and the surviving one went into the full “respected statesman”, “thoughts and prayers with family” tribute mode.

I was reminded of that sketch this week when rail union boss Bob Crow carked it at the weekend.

Everyone from Boris Johnson to Ed Miliband joined the chorus of “principled man of the people” and lauded Crow as a cross between Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and Wolfie Smith. To which I say… BOLLOCKS! Of course, it’s bad form to speak ill of the dead and all that but if Comrade Bob was the straight- talking man of the people he’s been painted, he surely wouldn’t mind. And before Mrs Thatcher was cold, Bob said he hoped she’d “rot in hell”. So f*** it.

Bob Crow WAS much loved. Much loved by London Underground drivers who got a pay packet of around £ 50k- a- year thanks to Crow’s bluster and strike threats. If someone wangled me a £ 50k pay packet I’d be fond of them too.

Fond

The truth is that every extra pound that went into Tube drivers’ settlements was a pound that couldn’t be spent on, say, nurses or teachers.

But, by all accounts, Bob didn’t care much for the bigger picture.

Look at how he remained in a council house, despite earning a six- figure salary. To Bob and his fans this was “standing by principles”. To everyone homeless waiting in the housing queue it was “fat, rich c*** likes having a house on the cheap.”

Bob’s idol was Arthur Scargill – another mouthy, hard- left fool whose posturing and ego did more harm to the average working man than any of the Blessed Lady T’s union reforms.

If Bob Crow was a hero of the labour movement we should not be surprised that workers are being trampled left, right and centre.