The SWP and others on the Left have been urging a 24-hour general strike, but a petitioner on last Saturday's Unite train back from the protests in London had a hard time convincing people to sign up to get the TUC to call one. The SWP lad said the last Saturday's protest against the Coalition cuts showed what happens when the leadership of the TUC call for a demo. But it didn't do much good in the 1980s when the TUC last called for 'Days of Action' by trade unionists. This didn't faze the SWP lad, who claimed that it is different now to the 1980s; indeed it is, the trade unions are weaker now than they were in the 1980s.
Curiously Bob Crow told the FT that he is not against all cuts like some other leftwingers, nor is he a 'deficit denier'; his proposed alternative to the cuts is a 'one pence tax on all emails' according the last Saturday's FT. This would, says Full-fact an analytical website, raise £12 m a year well short of the UK's deficit. Other parts of his political philosophy include a dislike for free trade and a passion for bigger import and export duties. He reputably keeps a bust of Lenin in his office but believes in pay differentials being on a six-figure salary himself. He supports a policy of 'opportunities for all', which I suppose Dave Cameron would ascribe to.
The grilled halibut at the Rules "hunting, shootin', fishin'" establishment in Covent Garden, that claims to be London's oldest restaurant, costs £53.90 for two, and the chips were £7.50 for two portions. But Big Bob knows the place well and he said that 'we had a summit here ... five weeks ago' and gossiped about Blair and Brown using the same place not to mention 'Nell Gwynne and King Charles'. Then he said: 'That's the healthiest fish you could have, halibut' it's 'full of oil, good for everything, bones, joints, healthy glow.' That, and the fact that he works out six days a week is what he reckons keeps him so fit.
One is left wondering if he will in the end prove to be a better and more successful leader for the British Left than was Arthur Scargill in the 1980s.
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Big Bob Crow the RMT union boss is on a six figure salary. He can afford to eat at Rules. On this occasion he wasn`t paying. The FT politcal correspondent Jim Pickard picked up the bill. Yesterday, eating at an IKEA cafe in the north, I paid £2.95 for fish, chips and peas, plus a cup of tea. Bob`s lunch for two came to £130.56The list below is what they ate for lunch at the Rules. See how the other half live!
Crab salad £13.95
Potted shrimp £12.95
Grilled halibut x 2 £53.90
Chips x 2 £7.50
Side spinach £3.75
Sponge pudding £7.50
Plum trifle £7.50
Cranberry juice £2.50
Virgin Mary £6.50
Total (including service) £130.56
I have been mystified for some time by the concept of organised ANARCHY . Surely by the virtue of it's organisation it ceases to be ANARCHY ?
Grilled mackerel + salad for two at John Lewis cost £9.95p while grilled halibut at RULES cost the FT £26.95p a plate before adding the chips at £3.75p a portion (on Shudehill Market in Manchester: Mackerel is £4.99 a Killo & Halibut is £24.99 a Killo). Everything else is extra to what up North we consider a traditional North of England dish. But though the FT were clearly paying on this occassion, it is clear if you read the interview that Big Bob picked the restaurant and knows his way around because of his references to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown eating there; not to mention his comment on Nell Gwynne and King Charles have a private room at one time. Now the thing about private rooms, in the old days, is that they use to have beds fitted in the room as well as tableware so that one could get stuck into a siesta after dinner. I suppose that's what 'BLACKLISTED' means by the virtue of 'organisation'. The functionaries, including the union functionaries, are always better organised when it comes to these things: the anarchists tend to let their principles get in the way.
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