RMT has issued a call for trade unionists and socialists to unite behind John McDonnell’s bid to secure enough nominations to stand in the Labour Party leadership contest and to use his campaign as an opportunity to begin the fightback against the ConDem government’s all-out assault on public services and living standards.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“John McDonnell leads the RMT group in parliament and no MP has done more to fight against attacks on jobs, public services and workers rights. John is a tireless worker on behalf of trade unionists and the communities that will be there in the front line of the ConDem attack and he is the perfect alternative to the assorted candidates from Continuity New Labour.

With the new ConDem government kicking off its cuts programme today, transport union RMT warned this morning that key transport projects, including Crossrail, High Speed rail, electrification and the Tube upgrades, are all at risk of being scrapped, scaled back or kicked into the long grass with the union forecasting that the national transport budget could be hacked back by up to 27%.

TRANSPORT UNION RMT today demanded concrete assurances from the government that crucial transport infra-structure projects will not fall victim to the cuts programme amid warnings today that key pledges, like High Speed Rail, could be kicked into the long grass.

In the ConDem coalitions programme document they talk about a commitment to a national high speed rail network but with the heavy duty caveat of “financial constraints” thrown into the mix as a drag weight on progress of the scheme which already lags behind much of Europe.

The following two resolutions were submitted by Stratford no.1 discussed at the July meeting of the Regional Council. The vote was tied and therefore they fell. The President recommended that they be resubmitted next year and that branches discuss them in the meantime.

1. That elections for single seats on these councils be conducted by branch block vote using the Alternative Vote system (rather than first-past-the-post, as at present).