Mick Lynch has never been one to mince his words, and this remained the case on Newsnight this week when he appeared alongside Reform’s Laila Cunningham. In a glorious takedown, Lynch labelled Reform and Restore “despicable” before calling out the “hatred” being spread by Cunningham’s party.
Lynch calls out Reform and Restore
It’s safe to say, Lynch has little time or care for what the right-wing factions of British politics are up to, but that doesn’t mean he can’t identify the issues facing Reform.
The former RMT general secretary identified the main problem for Nigel Farage’s party if they want to win a general election, which is how they appeal to more of the moderate centre of British politics whilst also fighting off the threat from Rupert Lowe’s hard-right Restore Britain.
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“As Reform try to appeal to the centre to consolidate their vote, they’re going to have to stretch their blanket to cover these ultra-right nationalists represented by Rupert Lowe,” he said.
“They’re all despicable as far as I’m concerned and working class people should turn away from them. They should turn away from the hatred that is being spread.”
A few home truths for Reform’s Cunningham
Lynch’s mention of hatred being spread by Reform prompted Laila Cunningham to pipe up and ask the trade unionist what he was referring to.
Lynch promptly reminded Reform’s London mayoral election candidate about her party’s policies in immigration and plans to deport thousands of people from the UK.
“Your party believes in mass deportations of people living in this country,” he told Cunningham.
When she claimed this was to do with illegal migrants, Lynch reminded her Reform have threatened to deport any economic migrant using the welfare system.
As Cunningham argued social housing and benefits should only be for British people, Lynch said: “The British people includes people that live here that come from abroad!”
After the Reform politician asked what British trade unionists would think, Lynch hit back: “What we believe is we pay for each other through a fair tax system where wealth is distributed properly so that all people can advance.
“You believe in isolating people and taking advantage of poverty so that you can divide them and make your friends even richer!”
He went on to give Cunningham a reminder about the Labour Party’s proud history of serving the British people and also what her leader Farage has previously said about the NHS.