Mick Lynch on the Pubcast | HS2, his personal politics, and Keir Starmer

What more could you ask for on a Sunday afternoon I ask.
This Sunday at 4PM the Pubcast is in front of a live studio audience at The World Transformed in Liverpool, on the first day of the Labour Party Conference.
We are delighted to be hosting the first of many live shows with very special guest, the General Secretary of the RMT, Mick Lynch.
Ava will also be joined live by friend of PoliticsJOE and digital editor of HUCK Magazine, Ben Smoke.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the inaugural live Pubcast, this Sunday at 4PM.
Subscribe to the Pubcast, or you're a silly goose: linktr.ee/pubcast
Subscribe to our new podcast now, or you're a silly goose:
linktr.ee/pubcast

[@TemplarBard]

I know that many have said this already, but it bears repeating, Mick Lynch is a paragon of what we need from our leaders.

[@xtc2v]

Its easy to spend billions to move 600 people along a track. That money was generated using fossil fuel and created its own pollution

[@djdarksidejungle559]

the guys an outed far righter and brexiter same with mr dempsey he said he agress with tommy robinson and is also a brexiter their not who they claim to be far as i can see just 2 outed far righters mate which i was shocked at to be honest cause union men and then supporting the biggest single act of self destruction in history and identifying with the godfather of the far right tommy robinson so who exactly are these guys

[@djdarksidejungle559]

i seen a speech mr dempsey gave to the labour out conference what not and i also heard his say he identifies with tommy robinson and i also heard mike lynch say similar things and he said he was a brexiter and i thought these guys were more ya far left equality and socailists and its just not the case

[@rafaeldegiacomoaraujo8778]

It's a pleasure to hear Mick speak.

[@f1remandg]

He, Mick Lynch is such an articulate man, his arguments are not only sound and balanced, they aren’t just sound bites, he gives solutions to issues, that are hard to argue with, everything costs money, but we are and have been throwing money away for the past 10 years, billions of wasted money by an incompetent set of individuals that are hated by the majority of the country, any other country they would have been out, the public would not have stood for this farce of individuals that just take, take & take more!

[@IshtarNike]

Yep. I honestly despise the politics of pure representation and weaponised identity. But seeing as that's where we are, it's bloody good to have a white guy with his accent arguing for this shit. Tories and their cronies want you to think that good infrastructure and green policies are just the exclusive preserve of champagne socialists in London. No. They're for everyone including the working class and the faux working class home owning Tory pensioners in middle England.

[@ShakirahIbaad]

More people need to hear what Mick Lynch has to say. He is truly a force to be reckoned with. I hope that we can establish a more cohesive movement and oust the Tories, and hold the Labour government that follows, to account. We really need to join up all the local movements, volunteer groups etc together united against corruption.

[@keirmitchell5560]

Labour are not corrupt 🤣🤣🤣

[@DavidManser]

@@keirmitchell5560 (compared to the Tories) ALL politicians should be held accountable for their actions and performance, especially when they are in power. This is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy.

[@paull9901]

And as “such force”, what exactly has he achieved as a GS in 2years? I love when someone on £100k+ salary who’s only claim to any type of labour was a short stint as a builder (that got sacked from the job straight away) becomes a working class hero. Delivery, speaking points, political alignment - could not be a more generic grifter…

[@mrD66M]

​@@paull9901we're waiting for you to do better

[@Ma55ey]

Love how Mick just Quietly Lets the other two go off on their tangents and patiently waits to bring the conversation back on topic..

[@jamie_ar]

It was painful to watch the other two bleating like some incensed teenagers while sitting next to somebody that has been in this game for decades and just wants to have a calm, coherent discussion...

[@geordievillan]

People acquire wisdom at different rates. Allow them their exuberance - the energy required to keep bashing heads with dinosaurs stems from that, and allows the calmer voices the space to be what they are. In the same way that both Just Stop Oil and Greenpeace are as essential as Unite and GMB, they fill a role.@@jamie_ar

[@rorypuds]

@@jamie_ar Politics Joe is squarely aimed at the 20s - 30s demographic, and rely on memes, banter and comedy to reach that audience. It was jarring having Lynch there who is incredibly dry. If he loosened up a bit, showed more of humour and human side, he might come across better to the general public.

[@volatile_zer0]

​@@rorypuds And here we see the two opposite sides, one commenter cringing at the 'noisy' youths and the other at the 'boring' expert. At the end of the day, these two types of complaints are one and the same after all. I'm glad I can say I enjoyed the discourse between all of them. Like @geordievillan quite rightly points out, they each fill a necessary role even if there isn't a whole lot of chemistry between them. You can't have a productive and balanced conversation with only one or the other. In my view, the introduction was the most awkward part. But I hand that down to it being a live 'talk' that's trying to replicate the Pubcast format, and the novel combination of the people hosting it.

[@thomashortoncc]

I’m sorry but Ben Smoke was a terrible addition, I agree he lowered the tone and likes the sound of his own voice vs asking questions and listening. Ava and Mick were awesome.

[@ennbee2051]

Ben Smoke. Benny boy, hey?! I'll remember that name. I'll rem... Fancy embarrassing Mick like that! Shameful. Leave the drinking and swearing in the pub, not a mature, political conversation.

[@MxLee192]

Lad just came across like he was trying to be a typical city mod edge lord.

[@paulhenson169]

As soon as you swear you have lost the argument learnt that being an ex RMT rep

[@ennbee2051]

@@paulhenson169 And you'd be right, me old pal. We swear in the pub. We're articulate in a meeting, my ol pal.

[@marksc111]

I just skipped forward past his bits whenever he started speaking.

[@glynjones5280]

100% support for mick and all our striking workers

[@RichardFooter]

Ben Smoke was a real chore to listen to. I understand he might be popular & 'spicy' but don't put him on the podcast as he's clearly decided to behave like a 15 year old. Ava & Mick are true professionals, really appreciate both for the wisdom, balance & insight.

[@deebarnard5439]

Yes, they have so many interesting young people who have followings in social media. Some of his points are valid. If he would only cut out the nonsense.

[@Pollllz]

Brilliant talk. Mick Lynch is the best. I’m a union member and fully support strikers. I’m not just ready to join picket lines. I’m ready to fcking riot at this stage.

[@davidsmart2350]

next time just have Mick alone. That other bloke was off with the fairies.

[@Czechbound]

Here in Czech Republic, if you book right now (Sunday evening) for travel next Friday at 18:00 (eg peak time) for travel from the capital, Prague, to the second city, Brno ( 260km away ), it costs GBP 13:00. And so all the people who live in the capital for work, can still go home to see their parents and local friends every week. There are lots of trains, and most of them are new ( and their adding new train stock all the time ). Affordable trains are doable.

[@mikeedwards83]

I care about it. Thanks for the info

[@eightiesmusic1984]

@@bipcharm7924 So rude. It is a good, relevant comment. You should care.

[@eightiesmusic1984]

Well said.

[@UkSapyy]

@@bipcharm7924 I am, makes England look like a joke.

[@eightiesmusic1984]

@@freko106 Precisely. Britain has the highest rail fares in Europe. Money going to the privateers, of course. Neoliberalism working well for the rich as intended.

[@patriciatennant1090]

I live in rural south Scotland. The SNP built a railway line linking Edinburgh to Galashiels. It has been a huge success. So much so that there is hope it will be extended to other areas in the future. People will opt for the train instead of the car if a train is available. It's a no brainer.

[@MelanieRuck-dq5uo]

Mick Lynch, one of my heroes, despite being younger than me !

[@andrewmaccallum2367]

Go on yerself Mick 👏👏👏 Solidarity ✊️

[@sarahp007]

Can we have Mick Lynch for PM, it’s like Brian Clough being the best England Manager we never had.

[@Gph0367]

Great interview with Mick Lynch👍

[@anthonysullivan3238]

My lad was at toxteth tv and enjoyed it. I've also just watched the stream and Mick Lynch is definitely a class act. Thanks for sharing

[@timharbert7145]

Gangsterism. Perfect word for what we have in the US too. Thank you for sharing this.

[@DW-indeed]

When you hear people (I hesitate to say right-wingers) banging on about common sense, it's usually at the expense of some group of people with a sprinkling of "woke" in there somewhere. Mick Lynch represents real, proper, original common sense in just about every word I've heard him utter.

[@lynnhickinbotham3784]

Great interview with the mick , always a pleasure to listen to him speak

[@zoetrope69]

3:30 is when it starts

[@naztubes]

Great chat. I'd love to have a man like Mick as PM. It's about time that the people were spoken on behalf of and not down to.

[@hazelb7218]

Sorry but who is the 'twat in the hat'?? Us 'poor people ' need to know? !!!! 😂

[@ennbee2051]

Apparently he calls himself Ben 'Benny Boy' (gangzta name) Smoke.🤷‍♂️No, I dont get it either.

[@JSmith19858]

I hear Mick's comments about being in danger of becoming a little club, also needing to listen to communities and issues they have to give power to their fights, and the relationships from that being reciprocal. As a disabled person I've struggled in employment, but the worst experience was with a heavily unionised workplace as a transport worker. It was a closed off clique and if they didn't like your face then you weren't staying, which as an autistic person was only really going to have one outcome. I felt the union were no help to me either way, and were actually a barrier to me staying in a job I enjoyed, and after that I view unions as being uninterested in supporting or fighting for disabled people. I can appreciate how the unions in the past have made great changes to the working environment, and how they're still fighting for people today, although there are disabled people out there that don't have any voice or anyone to fight their corner, that are seemingly a sub class of people in employment. The unions should be proactively helping these people aswell, and that in return would make them stronger. When employment and pay amongst disabled people is as low as it is in this country, it is something all unions should be making a point of.

[@battmarn]

Mick excellent as ever

[@colleenbrannon790]

I live on the Isle of Wight, where not only are we forced to declare bankruptcy every time we have to go to mainland uk on the ferry (which we often must do for nhs treatment, work, any kind of event…) but where there’s no train line that goes anywhere useful for 90% of us, and where bus routes are few and far between, and also very expensive (around £4 for a 20 min journey last time I checked!). Isolating a/f for poor people :/

[@alexvince461]

Rishi Sunak needs to be called to account for his vandalism and robbery, hopefully they'll be an enquiry into how he came to the decision to steal all the money from HS2 for his friends

[@GentlemannGamer]

Thanks for this, it was a really good conversation. Re: 30:50 (context from 30:18 ), 55:30 , 21:00 , and also 26:22 I think Mick's criticisms of the younger left at the moment are really important. I think it's very applicable to the main audience of this channel, including myself naturally. We're ceding control of the real world by not turning up and being part of local communities, and that has a big impact on political power. I would argue that's because the real world has been made systematically more hostile to young people compared to what my parent's generation had access to, but the fact still remains that we can't just allow the right-wing to own the spaces outside our front door. I'm not sure exactly how we bridge that gap towards the communities Mick talked about, like the mosque example, but there should be a push for online left spaces, KZbin channels, streamers, and other communities to focus more on encouraging and actively facilitating local meetings. Also 33:40 is super important. (edited to fix timestamps as the video got trimmed)

[@El-Burrito]

Great comment, gonna check out this time stamps

[@volatile_zer0]

​@@sst9100 So now just agreeing with someone and stressing the importance of the topics talked about is considered selling out? That's fun. God forbid I ever compliment someone on their sense of fashion, they'll think I'm being paid to endorse the brands whose tags I can't even see!

[@plebjames]

Join a union and get active in it. Get all your colleagues to join too. Organise around the priorities in the workplace e.g. wages, home working etc. If everyone did that the labour movement would be really strong with all the good things that flow from that

[@user-gv6mq1jw1i]

Mick Lynch, is a real fighter, we need more people like him. I see the labour party exactly the same way he does.

[@mildlydispleased3221]

Mick supports Brexit.

[@ennbee2051]

​@@mildlydispleased3221Why don't you get a life?! I've got one, why don't you get one?

[@Tr1ckady]

That was worth watching, thanks

[@annenunney9907]

Mick Lynch is a diamond solidarity

[@mattowensrees]

You can see Mick Lynch is embarrassed by the lack of debating skills of the other two, particularly the guy in the cloth cap who can hardly put two words together. Mick knows how to put his points across.

[@Mikebloke]

I'm 5 minutes in (or 90 seconds of actual air time) and the introduction was weird and Mick was looking a bit annoyed. An attempt at LBCing the Labour Conference gone wrong.

[@siobhan-rae]

Ben is perfectly understandable…

[@IshtarNike]

What skills? This is a discussion not a debate.

[@robertwilliamson9576]

Yes plz do more live podcasts. PoliticsJoe is class and very underrated

[@brockit79]

✊gwarn Mick - "they've got to go" is right.

[@user-wd6zt3eq9x]

“ the corruption lies all around us “, so true. But what is so worrying is that it is so blatant so transparent and no one is called to account or prosecuted. Unless you protest against it and then you may well find yourself out of work and prosecuted.

[@buffetslayer1533]

I wanted more talking from mick lynch. But Ben Smokes 20min monologues got in the way.

[@ivanteece]

Mick is terrific

[@johnburrows3385]

Such a great communicator. He doesn't um or ahh or say you know or like . BTW .....I wish that guy would stop swearing.

[@ennbee2051]

Stop swearing?! But he's gangzta man! He has to swear, or his bredren will trow him outda gang. Man.

[@johnburrows3385]

@@ennbee2051 Ah , that explains it !

[@heem6619]

baseball cap guy is embarrassing

[@fang_xianfu]

If one of their proposals for the HS2 money is literally fixing potholes... *There should be enough money for that anyway!* You need to fix potholes whether you have high-speed rail or not!

[@evelbsstudio]

The EU used to give us money to improve infrastructure including fixing potholes, that's just a part of the money we got back

[@Ste2023]

Mick Lynch - brilliant man

[@MiPointIs]

Sunak is not interested in public transport he only travels by private jet (subsidised by taxpayers for his PM travels) What about restricting private jets and helicopters?

[@sethsergent9896]

Excellent 👏👏👏👏👏

[@henners9747]

Your man from Huck Magazine wasn't needed. He's probably your pal and that's fair enough but he didn't add much to the conversation. Would've just preferred Mick and yourself and both or either of the usual two fellas.

[@MxLee192]

Cap lad goes on about the campaigners had during Corbyns era. "we didn't win, but we ran an amazing campaign"... No. It lost. Doesn't matter how many people go to doors, we found this out. It takes a political class with the marketing know how and the policies to convince the country. Corbyns 2019 manifesto was ridiculous and a hard sell. I know, I knocked doors. Then he says "do you need a food bank?"... Literally charities, churches etc all do these already. Running charity isn't and can't be a political ideology campaign. If someone's starving, they want food. They don't want a "ever heard of Socialism? Read Capital comrade, here's some beans". So stupid. The left has lost its mind and is detached from reality and I've left it due to this.

[@crayontom9687]

You’ve left the left? Genius. Where did you go next?

[@chestikof8665]

LOVED THIS WANT MORE OF THESE! (next time sort out the audio though, haha 😁)

[@SoNoFTheMoSt]

i would vote for mike lynch for what ever party he ran with.

[@malsimons]

Dude in the hat should talk less. Get to the point

[@reddyornott9981]

Using a car is far cheaper than using a railway, particularly a high speed railway like HS2. I live on HS1 and a ticket to London 30 minutes away is 90 pounds a day

[@balkanleopard9728]

Thank goodness for Mick Lynch and people like him. Mick sits within the core of true Labour - honest, compassionate and committed to the changes so desperately needed in the West.

[@sobyeski]

Having used the high speed rail in Spain, it's excellent.

[@OneFaintingRobin]

Really appreciated Mick's comments on Proportional Representation. I can absolutely see and agree with a lot of the arguments in favour of it, but I've always had something nagging at me that didn't get me quite on board, and the way he puts it has finally put words to why I'm not so convinced by it.

[@plebjames]

Proportional representation would much better than the current system. It wouldn't always be a Con/Dem coalition abd it would make it harder to keep popular policies, like nationalisation of water and eail etc, off the agenda. He did acknowledge that many of the countries doing liads better than us have PR

[@OneFaintingRobin]

@@plebjames Oh yeah, absolutely. I'm not saying it doesn't have its advantages, and I agree that certain very popular policies like renationalisation don't make a strong argument. But I also agree with Mick's point, that does seem to largely bear out in these other countries, that it has a big risk of diluting progressive parties by making centrists the kingmakers; if we always had Lib Dem coalitions, even if you got them teaming up with a Corbyn-style progressive Labour in power it makes solid, systemic change significantly more difficult, if not nearly impossible. I don't disagree that it would be an improvement over our current system in a lot of ways, but I also feel it's sometimes pitched as the solution to all our electoral problems. It's a better system in ways, but it's not a system that's going to make meaningful systemic change any easier.

[@plebjames]

@@OneFaintingRobin One of the biggest reasons I am for PR, or some other more proportional system, is that the two main parties delimit the boundaries of policy debate aka the Overton window. The other main reason is that there has been an anti-Tory majority at every election in the 20th and 21st centuries, but FPTP means they have been in power for about three quarters of that period. They are poison

[@OneFaintingRobin]

@@plebjames Well, we're certainly in agreement about the tories, I can promise you that! I absolutely agree there are good arguments for it, very much including your points. But I still think there's something lacking in it, which is well described by Mick here. I'd potentially like to see a variation on what they have in Aotearoa, with a mixture of regionally voted MPs AND a sizeable chunk of seats given out through PR. I'd probably also go for preferential voting instead of a single vote, which I think is another good way to avoid the situation we're in now where voting outside the 2 main parties is normally pointless.

[@irishmiddle]

I completely agree with what Mick has said about engaging the working class. Stop lecturing, stop pushing issues. Engage with them about their concerns. Plasterers and builders don’t think twice about trans issues. And if they do, I’ll guess the majority aren’t in a positive light because it’s become a weaponised issue. I’m a farmer, and everyone dismisses my concerns that we as an island are already overpopulated. In order to have enough land for food production and re-wilding we can’t just continue to build on the Green belt. So what effective methods can we take to keep a stable population?

[@peterquinlan9789]

Mick, a total realist. Just wish he would form a political party. Thlnk they would get to power straight away. Such is the lack of real people in politics today.

[@Dantianblue]

Seems a 1.5M estate in staffordshire was bought less than 24 hours before hs2 extension was cancelled. Incompetence or more Tory finagling? 😮

[@deebarnard5439]

Anyone surprised? We've already seen the rampant corruption and lies. A little insider trading would be par for course.

[@RandallSlick]

Good. solid talk. Hopefully Mick Lynch's closing words and his comments on the anti-Starmer brigade may at least have caused some to reconsider their incessant rattle-throwing. A forlorn hope but one can only hope for unity.

[@MxLee192]

Mick is correct when he asks "who in this room is a plasterer" etc. However, this points to the class make up of what I call the hipster left. They are not rooted in those jobs and are not in large unions. No idea what the answer is. But it shows the disconnect.

[@irishmiddle]

Astute comment. These university leftists push issues that don’t necessarily connect with real working class people.

[@antoniaf1886]

A lot of commenters here clearly don’t listen to the Pubcast. It’s not designed to be an uptight serious podcast. Mick Lynch has been on it or at least interviewed by Politics Joe before. I’m sure he can handle it.

[@tednindo6761]

mick lynch for PM

[@TheWatchman1893]

All valid, Mick lynch is amazing I'd always tune into listen to him ? But what's with ridiculous ideological staging,? Who's the potty mouth in the cap ? This is the exact reason Corbyn and the ideas he had failed the whole thing just doesn't present well, Sunak talks utter shite but presenting the party on sharp suits and being Very well spoken works much more effectively as rallying cry than this.

[@eightiesmusic1984]

What is ideological staging?

[@TheWatchman1893]

@@eightiesmusic1984 yes, they could of had a professional sound deadened stage with a simple company logo simple, effective and professional

[@eightiesmusic1984]

@@TheWatchman1893 Could have. Not difficult.

[@monaghan5475]

I wonder on how many ocassions Starmer thought to himself, ''Oh god I wish that I could have the understanding and honesty of Mick Lynch'' Let us face it Starmer is Leader of an iffy Labour Party by default.

[@philipholme9911]

Mick Lynch is a very articulate speaker and talks a lot of sence, its just a shame that his message is been hijacked by foul mouth comentators that put peoples backs up.

[@moorcl]

Personally I only use public transport when traveling to from and around London and do the same in other major cities when the services are adequate the problem is most services are shit due to privatisation prioritising shareholders over customers and employees!

[@karinakaminski1945]

👍👍👍

[@aefun5761]

Starts at 03:31. Re UK rail compared to Spanish rail, night & day. 140 quid for London to Liverpool in the UK?! In Spain, trains may be crowded at times, but ones I take run every 10 mins at peak, & are extremely cheap. My daily commute to Barcelona, a 30 min journey there. 30 min journey back, costs 10 euros. That's not 10 euros a day. That's 10 euros for an unlimited travel ticket - & that ticket lasts for 3 months.

[@Mikebloke]

Yep it's a joke, here is a good example of northern England: £5.40 for a return ticket, about 10 minutes each way. I want to go stop further (+8 minutes each way) that nearly doubles to £9.80 Yes if I could pay for an annual ticket in advance, the cost goes down, but that is for single routes, if you travel for work into different towns like I do that has three entirely different lines that doesn't even connect in the same county, that doesn't apply.

[@IshtarNike]

Trains near major cities in the UK are ALWAYS crowded. I don't think the Spanish can have it much worse.

[@just-a-working-male]

retail worker that likes his job . no problems using buses around Brighton . but cant afford to use trains to go anywhere outside Sussex

[@tomwhite7983]

I'm lucky enough to live in Kent, very close to a section of high-speed line that means I can get into London St Pancras in under an hour. But if I wish to use public transport to go further north than London? The prices rise to such a point that it becomes cheaper to drive to a London airport, and take a plane up north to where I need to be. It's both disgraceful, and a humiliation.

[@DG_musician]

I have to regularly use the high speed rail between Belgium and Germany and it's incredible. The last ticket I bought between Cologne and Brussels cost me €40.

[@EmmaVB82]

25:31 Totally agree with what Mick’s saying here, while also hoping I don’t resemble this remark! 😏 I joined the Labour Party to vote for Corbyn, who was my local MP for a bit (I was briefly a supporter of the Green Party before that), and while I was an enthusiastic member for a few years there, I couldn’t stay a member to support the current Starmer regime with what it’s done to Corbyn, Corbyn supporters and the left of the party more generally, and also the dreadful treatment of transgender people and their rights. I still fully believe in the socialist cause though, and in true geriatric Millennial fashion am only becoming more left-wing with age, and can’t imagine that changing! I (belatedly, but I was saving up to buy a flat for a long time) recently joined the relevant union at my workplace (Unite), but specifically opted out of becoming an affiliate member of the Labour party as a result of that membership. Obviously they’re still better than the Tories, and at the next election I’m undoubtedly going to vote for David Lammy (despite being very displeased with his treatment of Corbyn and the left of the party, not to mention trans rights… I should probably write to him and tell him, for whatever good it will do), but I’m not giving any of my money or implied consent or encouragement to Starmer and the like. I can’t imagine my principled stand is really going to affect them one way or the other (unless there are hundreds or more like thousands of me), but to me it feels like a bridge I just will not cross.

[@user-it8nk3ds7r]

One would think ,if only for the sake of common justice , that those forced to sell their homes for HS2 should at least be offered their homes back at the same price they were forced to sell them for as those trying to get their homes back are having,in some cases, to find hundreds of thousands of pounds more.Scandalous!,,

[@FIHRR-bd8uy]

LISTEN to MICk n VOTE ppl it’s NEVER been more IMPORTANT than NOW 🙄

[@royloveday4350]

If you want to break into the trades find a way to offer them insurance and trade cards such as cscs qualifications that offer a bit of value on the front end, what unions offer wont be thrown out with bathwater if you do but you need a quorum first.

[@Feeshgmod]

Whys the audio so bad lol

[@adriftinaboat3452]

They don’t have billionaire backers-money talks😊

[@deebarnard5439]

Just put in your ear plugs and turn up the volume.😁

[@yolo437]

Does that clown in the cap not realise potholes affect buses & bikes as well as just cars. Ava said herself the other day that now she's taken up using a bike, she's noticed how dangerous potholes can be. Plus can he not have a conversation without swearing 🤡

[@dog-ez2nu]

he's workin' class and young. swearing is how we talk.

[@bipcharm7924]

​@@dog-ez2nuabsolute laughing stock you

[@GarethReecewood]

​@dog-ez2nu His swearing doesn't sound natural though. Sounds like a posh person pretending to be working class

[@noeldunford4955]

I support mick railways have always created wealth for the country imagine if we had no railways nothing would move

[@ttbr7687]

The audio sucks but the conversation is good.

[@HenryTinker]

I love travelling by train- it's just so expensive. Mick is right, we need better rail infrastructure. Should be fully publically funded like it used to be. Don't know anyone who prefers motorways to be honest- especially the M25. Nightmare.

[@chrisjames1924]

Ben Smoke…nice enough chap, on the correct side of the political spectrum, fairly smart etc…but, he was horrendous in this discussion. Same rules for good writing of keeping it “short, concise, clear, and humane” are also applicable for stuff like this. Painful to watch.

[@Listlesscheese]

No applause to Mick hoping for a Labour victory

[@deebarnard5439]

If the government stopped putting money into the coffers of the railway owners, their resistance to actually coming to an agreement would be financially essential. So basically the government are enabling the length of the strike. The NHS is going the same way as the railways.

[@killymckillkill]

Feel like Mick has been very busy lately

[@paulmadmonkeyman2822]

How u doing mivv

[@stevo0861]

I agree with 99% of what Mick Lynch says, but I also believe in personal choice and I will never ever get over my desire to have a private vehicle at my disposal, to use how I want and when I want.

[@stuartwray6175]

Access to affordable public transport doesn't preclude you having a car or motorbike. It extends choice.

[@MutualAidWorks]

I'm working class and I say that union leaders like Lynch have failed the working class. They failed to go on all out strike and take real, effective action. This is typical of trade unions, which pacify and divert the workers and negotiate social peace with the bosses. The nature of officialdom is also that union bureaucrats and leaders take official positions and become alienated from the workers and they control and police workers. Workers should be militant and take effective action outside of the unions. They should at the very least do an all out, proper strike. Politicians, political parties and union leaders are a diversion away from building independent, grass roots alternatives and carrying out direct action. Even if we are to gain reforms how we do so is vital and we should not be dependent on politicians and union bosses and look up to them as our 'saviours'. We need to build real working class self-organisation, militant resistance, solidarity, power and unity.

[@Elisolstice]

Mick is right. We cannot give up, however where he is wrong is that the young activists and their representatives are flighty and have given up… They didn’t, we haven’t. Starmer has systematically kicked us out.

[@esbee666]

16:47 Why not? Guilty conscience?

[@ukgeoff4403]

Yup

[@Holismleith]

Good Lord cap man you are a word salad and swearing is so inappropriate in this setting to be honest. Word Salad morons do not help - take the Mike off him next time for goodness sake.

[@Markell1991]

Mick and Eva the adults, with Ben talking like a teenager. Swearing or not, he didn't seem very calm. University politics someone said and I kind of agree (not that I disagree with many of his points).

[@leowalless9328]

Why is the audio always so f***ing awful on these? It's like watching Question Time on a security door entry system! Why are so many leftwing podcasters and KZbinrs so technically inept? I plough through this because I'm in the choir, but I can't share it with anyone in my friends and family who needs to hear it because they won't last a minute

[@danwhalen2899]

... and those trains sold to Canada were a disaster because of lack of foresight from all concerned fuelled by political expediency. Only one set was constructed, the rest were shipped in pieces. The contractor involved (Bombardier, Canada's corporate welfare queen) went way over budget (don't they all) and several years late. It was like they were trying to back engineer a UFO. They ran in service for about 10 years and eventually consigned to storage as they were a maintenance nightmare and not suited for the climate here. I know because I had to work with them. For life of me, how can the concept of a door be so irrevocably F**ked Up ?

[@silondon9010]

The Royal Mail workers need Mr Lynch as their leader as Dave Ward got a terrible terrible deal for Delivery staff 😢

[@daryoushhaj-najafi9865]

I’m not a super big fan of the pub cast format, but if you bear with this, the lad and Mick are absolutely right about socialist activism being nothing but hot air without direct help to the community. Both because it teaches us what help is actually needed/works and creates trust, politicians of any stripe in some ways can’t help loving power it’s in their nature and having been fucked over the most it’s normal for marginalised people to be wary of them.

[@Listlesscheese]

Mick, Ive worked in the public sector, privare sector and charities for all my life. Im ideologically a socialist, if we renationalised everything, what would become of my pension?

[@RayHigh4708]

Only 10 minutes in and I need to ask. Who is the idiot with the cap on? Mick Lynch is putting up with him so far. Also Mick . Do you drive a car . Don't get me wrong I love Mick Lynch.

[@ennbee2051]

Cap guys never seen the underside of a pub table.

[@sambradbury5479]

3:59 ahahaahahaha

[@nevm7469]

in my personal experience, as an american, it’s primarily the working class (particularly the older white working class) who are the most bigoted and hateful while the college educated middle/upper middle and affluents are the much more progressively minded worldly ones. it’s why i personally have an extremely hard time feeling any type of affection for the working class (particularly the white working class) and feel much more of a fondness for the “elite”, even as a young progressive person myself. i grew up in an industrial exurban working class town in america and they were some of the worst, most bigoted, hateful, stupid and small minded people i ever knew and then i started a company and moved to manhattan and was around the cultural “elite” who were some of the most welcoming, intelligent, open minded and permissive ppl iv ever met. so, as a progressive i struggle with this a lot. i frankly have a very deeply engrained bitterness towards much of the white working class cuz of where i grew up and a deep fondness for the coastal cosmopolitan “elite”.

[@markkeogh2190]

Why the hissy audio. Is this recorded on vhs ?

[@alexlodda]

Nice wee Marx ref there

[@blackdogbarking]

labour didnt seem to appreciate danger of brexit

[@EamonCoyle]

What Mick said about political correctness made me perk up; I think the overuse of political correctness has become part of the reason for the extremeness of political and social life in that people who have an educated and informed opinion aimed at engaging in debate are put off speaking up for fear of over-reaction and that is on all sides of every argument in life at this stage. That is the reason the world seems to be tearing itself apart and the longer it goes on the more chance it will happen. I will call upon this quote "the easiest way for evil to succeed in the world is for good 'people' to stand by and do nothing" !!

[@EamonCoyle]

I don't like to edit so lesser evil is replying to myself....I think what I am saying was emphasised by the fact that Lawrence Fox and Dan Wootton got a degree of support for the horrible and inexcusable way they spoke about Ava. It isn't that they were in any way right, it's just so much worse gets spewed over social media every day that people are desensitised to it !!

[@Alexpage1111]

the issue is you argument is what they want, as mic said its not a issue anywhere but in their head, they way to combat racism or sexism like mic said is for others to call it out, in other words for good people to stand by and do something, rather than nothing. Will the reaction always be the best, no, but its better than nothing and a position that we can work from. also what support did they get? each got sacked from one job each, anther got sacked for supporting them publicly, Fox being investigated for criminal conspiracy and Wootton has his own issues@@EamonCoyle

[@IshtarNike]

Nah this isn't the one mate. "Political correctness" used to be not calling people the n-word. As a black person who grew up in the 90s and 2000s I'm damn fucking grateful for the so called political correctness that meant I wasn't casually called slurs as a child like my dad was. It would be REALLY fucking rich for someone like me to start complaining about the overuse of political correctness nowadays, as if somehow including other groups like transpeople into that umbrella is somehow a bridge too far. This argument is mixing up cause and effect. Hateful people will tell you that the reason they're hateful is because of political correctness gone too far or whatever, but it's a lie. The same logic all hateful shitty people use when called out for bullying "he started it." It's bollocks and it's always been bollocks.

[@EamonCoyle]

@@Alexpage1111 The issue is you can't even spell MICK so I don't consider what you say worth my time !!

[@EamonCoyle]

@@IshtarNike I appreciate what you are saying and I maybe could have laid it out a bit better. I think ever the "niceness" of the term is part of the problem, political correctness used to be challenging hate but now it's about picking easy fights that don't make a difference or have an impact and it allows the hate of today to go unchallenged in many respects. Absolutely respect what you said sir and I am thankful the overt racism people like your father faced are mostly a thing of the past. I do however think the hate of today is going unchallenged when you have Braverman etc basically weaponising political correcctness and encouraging further division.

[@robertstraw9881]

Can we just have Mick Lynch speaking?