It was with shock and sadness that all of us here at CND heard the news of Bob Crow’s passing. We offer our sincere condolences to Bob’s family, friends and colleagues.
Bob was a passionate trade unionist who fought tirelessly for his members: a man of courage and conviction. There are too few of his kind in British politics.
He was also a great and principled friend of the anti-nuclear movement, and fought alongside CND to oppose replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system. His RMT anti-Trident resolution to the TUC Congress in 2006 began to turn the tide against replacement which rapidly reached majority proportions across the country.
Bob described Trident as an ‘immoral’ and ‘scandalous waste of public funds’. In his inimitable style, he confrontedthe jobs issue around Trident head-on – a tricky issue for a trade union leader: “What about when we used to hang people? We had chief executioners – we had to diversify and find new jobs for them.”
Bob’s passing is a tragic loss for working people across the UK and for comrades in the trade union movement. He will be sorely missed.