25 February 2024 , 09:04
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RMT boss Mick Lynch has said his union will support Jeremy Corbyn if he stands at the next election.
Former Labour leader Mr Corbyn has been suspended by the party since 2020 as a result of an antisemitism row, and Keir Starmer says there is no way back for him. This means he will have to stand as an independent candidate if he wants to return to Parliament.
Mr Lynch said that if he does so, he will have the union's support. He told the War on Want conference, the BBC reports: "We will support all sorts of people in this election, because we're not affiliated."
And Mr Lynch went on: "We will support Labour candidates. We will support socialist candidates. We will be supporting Jeremy Corbyn in the next election."
Mr Corbyn has yet to say what he intends to do at the general election. Mr Lynch said Mr Starmer won't receive a "blank cheque to do whatever he likes" if Labour win the general election.
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Mr Lynch said: "I think Labour have got a good chance of getting elected unless they muck it up, really.
"If you can't defeat this Government we'll never get a Labour government again, I would have thought, so he's got a very good chance of winning. That doesn't mean that we give him carte blanche or a blank cheque to do whatever he likes."
He continued: "I support getting rid of this Government and I'm a realist - the only government we're going to get as an alternative will be led by Keir Starmer, so people have to deal with that, people have got to grow up a bit in some senses. That's the government we're going to get and we have to make the best of that opportunity."
Mr Lynch said the Conservatives staying in Government would be "a disaster" for working people, the environment and the UK's international standing, adding: "It's essential that they go and that's my number one priority. I don't give Keir Starmer a free pass, or Rachel Reeves, or anyone else on their front benches - there's a lot to do, no matter where you look."