Railway crusader

Individuals like Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, respected the way the 52-year-old stood up for his members and sought to hold the transport industry to account on a range of issues.

In this regard, Mr Crow’s death leaves a significant void. Many will contend that the train operators should be doing more to improve services for passengers, even if they disagreed fundamentally with the RMT’s militancy and willingness to strike.

Yet even though Ed Miliband described this crusading left-winger as a “loved” figure, Mr Crow was no stranger to controversy, not least over his £145,000 pay packet and his decision to take a holiday in Brazil 
as his union prepared 
for industrial action in London.

Deeply embarrassing to the Labour movement, this “do as I say, not as I do” style of political activism had parallels with Arthur Scargill’s leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers which tore apart Yorkshire’s coalfield communities and left a bitter legacy still felt today.

To its credit, the trade union movement today is very different to three decades ago. It is a moderating force that still has an important role to play in defending the interests of its members.

The only regret is that Bob Crow did not always recognise that conciliation has superseded the confrontation that defined so many disputes in the past.