An early Xmas present for the Tories

There can be no doubt that Mark Serwotka has been an outstanding trade union General Secretary, nor that the PCS union has faced the greatest of challenges, from Governments of both parties, during his tenure.

This makes it all the more shocking that PCS has offered an early Xmas present to every enemy of our movement by cancelling part of its internal democracy for twelve months, citing a financial crisis.

On the eve of a General election in which our greatest enemies (the Tories) will lose no opportunity to attack our movement it would be grotesquely irresponsible if the PCS National Executive did not reverse this catastrophe.

You don’t have to join the internal political critics, or newer rank and file voices within PCS in order to see that this development is dangerous for the whole movement. The narrative of “trade union barons” has done us a lot of harm in the past – but at Runnymede the barons did at least establish that the king himself was not above the law.

The General Secretary himself is not above the Rule Book.