The RMT general secretary excelled in the media rounds this week, leaving interviewers red-faced, raging, and lost for words, other than ‘jog on!’

In a week dominated by Lynch-loathing, union-bashing headlines, here’s a round-up of the trade unionist’s best moments.

Right-wing press ‘parroting’ BBC

On December 13, the union chief took aim at the BBC, criticising it for ‘parroting’ right-wing propaganda on striking workers who are struggling to make ends meet with low pay during the cost of living crisis.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lynch accused presenter Mishal Husain of showing bias when he was pressed on the average amount of pay lost by union members through industrial action.

When Husain asked Lynch to put a figure on the financial “sacrifice” he has said his workers have suffered, the RMT general secretary said: “That depends on what shifts they were working, what rate of pay they earn and how many occasions they have to go out.”

 “What I do find annoying though, Mishal, is that you put these lines that are directly taken from the propaganda of the other side. You never show any admiration for the fight that working people are putting up in this country for the rebalancing of our society,” he added.

“You never criticise the super-rich for what they’re doing to nurses, what they’re doing to postal workers, and you never seem to take an impartial view on the way this society is balanced at the moment with the complete lack of distribution of wealth in our society.

“You always just seem to punt out anything you receive from the employers and from the government, and that’s what I’m hearing directly through the filter of the BBC this morning.”

Husain replied: “The question was about the average amount of pay lost by your members through strike action … You’ve said your members are making a sacrifice … What’s wrong with putting a number on it?”

“Why do you need that number?” Lynch continued, before likening the BBC’s coverage to “an editorial line I could read in the Sun or the Daily Mail or any of the right-wing press in this country”.

“I find this a shocking stance that the BBC will take – you’re just parroting the most right-wing stuff you can get hold of on behalf of the establishment, and it’s about time you showed some partiality towards your listeners, to working-class people in this country who are being screwed to the floor by the attitudes and policies of this government,” the trade unionist continued.

Lynch suggests Madeley interviews himself

The same morning saw the trade union chief reduce GMB presenter Richard Madeley into the butt of a national joke for being the living incarnation of the incompetent, desperate, right-wing TV presenter, Alan Partridge.

You’d think Madeley would have learnt by now that he never comes out on top when interviewing Mick Lynch. But no, the Good Morning Britain presenter spluttered his way through the interview with the usual anti-trade union hype peddled by the corporate media.

Reduced to shouting through visible anger, Madeley put it to Lynch that the rail strikes were targeting people at Christmas and could put hoteliers, restaurateurs and retailers out of business during a normally busy time of year.

To which Lynch coolly replied: “We’re not targeting Christmas, it isn’t Christmas yet, Richard, I don’t know when your Christmas starts but mine starts on Christmas Eve.”

Madeley referred to the comment as “disingenuous”, adding: “Commercial Christmas starts in December, you know that.”

As the debate continued, Lynch said: “Richard, why don’t you just interview yourself?”

A flustered Madeley had little to come back with other than “jog on!.”

During a live debate for the Mirror after the row, Mick Lynch joked that Richard Madeley is an “Alan Partridge character.”

RMT strikes back at Piers Morgan’s Lynch assault

Piers Morgan couldn’t resist joining the anti-Mick mob, taking to Twitter to share his rage.

“Mick ‘The Grinch’ Lynch is beginning to believe his own over-hyped bullsh*t. Loves being a media star, so has zero incentive to resolve the strikes as that would deprive him of the TV oxygen he craves,” tweeted the outspoken presenter.

The RMT hit back at the comment, with a brilliant one-liner that read:

“Alexa, what’s a definition of hypocrisy?” then pointed to Morgan’s tweet.

The comeback sparked more fury from Morgan, who then challenged Lynch to appear on his show.

“Tell Media Mick to come on my show tonight, and stop bottling it.”

To which the union replied:

“Why have you got some more hard-hitting revelations about his Facebook profile pic?”

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward

Image credit: Twitter screen grab

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