Bob Crow dies

[GWRtom]

R.I.P Bob Crow, you looked after your union members well.

 

[al.currie93]

While some of his actions may have been controversial, none were ever overly extreme, while I may not have done the same if it were me, and while he annoyed a number of people, he was strong and stood up for what he believed in, and did it all to help the people who he was leading and representing; and he often did that well. What's more, despite the image, he had good at heart and many people who knew him knew him to be a really nice man beneath the shell.

I am saddened by this news, and my thoughts are with him and his family and friends. He was a strong and loyal man who was passionate about and committed to his beliefs; something lacking in many of todays leaders. May he rest in peace, and my condolences again to his family and friends.

 

[TDK]

RIP Bob Crow, I never ever believed in his views or tactics or the fact that he was sometimes totally wrong with his actions however, if you ask any member of the general public the name of a union leader they would say Bob Crow, the times he was on national TV at silly o'clock in the morning defending his members was a lot more than other union leaders. I think he had a genuine concern for his members and was always willing to show face no matter what time it was. The RMT will be a shadow of itself now he has sadly departed.

As for passengers and folks outside of the railway Bob was not there to support you but there to support the rights of his workers which he seemed to do very well. condolences to all that knew him personally.

 

[aylesbury]

Agree he stood up for his members not many do that now wonder who will lead the RMT now?

 

[LowLevel]

RIP sir. I consider my subs to have been well spent.

If anything it makes me sad to think of the vitriol the bloke got for taking what turned out to be the last holiday of his life and enjoying himself in a way that many of us would be quite happy to do - sitting on the beach, having a drink by the pool, and singing duff karaoke. The fact he was able to do so in a 5 star resort is an issue for no one but those of us who are RMT members who put him in his position, and I for one don't begrudge it. He was very competent at his job and was remunerated accordingly like many others - only the people he defended can appreciate the true value of that, whether a loud mouthed figurehead or not.

If anything it goes to show you should always enjoy yourself while you can as no matter how well things seem to be going, you never know what is round the corner. That's certainly the lesson I'll be taking from this, forget anything political. It's irrelevant, neither his money nor his political standing are any use to him now.

 

[bicbasher]

I remember an interview with Bob on LBC radio only a month ago and he was calm, courteous and stubborn, but spot on on various points.

As he said recently "if I want to spent £10k on a car, I'll do it, if I want to spend £10k on a holiday, I'll do it"

LBC also tried a stunt where they gave him a cocktail as an attack on him having a holiday just before the recent tube strike, he took it on the chin and went along with it well.

RIP Bob.

 

[Whistler40145]

RIP Bob Crow

My condolences are with his family, friends & union colleagues.

At this time, we should think of Bob as an individual and not for the job he did or his politics.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[fowler9]

If you agreed with the guy or not he fought for his people. He died too young. May he rest in peace.

 

[Kite159]

R.I.P. Mr Crow

 

[deltic]

I thought Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, summed it up exactly:

"Bob Crow was admired by his members and feared by employers, which is exactly how he liked it. It was a privilege to campaign and fight alongside him because he never gave an inch."

Railway workers have lot to be thankful to him for.

 

[IKBrunel]

RIP Bob Crow

My condolences are with his family, friends & union colleagues.

At this time, we should think of Bob as an individual and not for the job he did or his politics.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Well said. Those who want to discuss the pros and cons of unions, etc should perhaps do so by starting another thread on that different subject.

 

[transmanche]

I didn't agree with Bob Crow on a number of issues or how he went about things. (He often came across as a throwback to the the 1970s "everybody out" comedy staple.)

However he stuck by his principles and made life uncomfortable for many of his opponents, who quite frankly deserved to have their life made uncomfortable! And that's no bad thing as it stops the powers that be from becoming too complacent. British political life will be less colourful without him.

Finally, 52 is no age to die. And that's the saddest thing.

 

[ungreat]

Rest easy Bob,you will be missed
As a railway man and a member of ASLEF I always admired what you did for your members in the RMT.
To quote Winston Churchill "You have enemies? Good.That means you stood up for something,sometime,in your life"
And he certainly did that

 

[dcsprior]

Personally, I know nothing of Bob Crow beyond what I've read in the media - which I expect were not the truest picture.

So all I can say is that from my outside perspective he seemed to do a good job on behalf of his members, and that as with any death I'm sure there are many on a personal level who will feel the loss.

I think that for a very public figure, normal rules regarding not being openly critical shortly after death don't apply. However, the right place to do that is not where those hearing (/reading) are relatively likely to have known, met, or simply held a good deal of respect for the man - after all, I would not have walked into a Conservative Club after Thatcher died and started repeating some of the things I'd said in private to my friends.

I disagree with him fundamentally, he lived on a massive salary & took the ****** by living in a council house.

Why is this taking the mickey? I believe council housing is funded solely from rental income, so is not in any way subsidised.

 

[WL113]

Sleep well Bob. your work is done.

It has been a privilege to meet you over the years.

Thank you for all you have achieved.

God bless.

 

[6Z09]

He fought for his members, but more than that he fought for the Rail Industry ,something some on here fail to recognise! He was not an enemy to the travelling public, he was defending the service ,passenger safety and peoples jobs.

 

[1018509]

But as a public transport passenger, I have to say good riddance.
This man cared not one jot for the passengers and the taxpayers.
He was selfish, snobbish and deeply arrogant, and viewed us passengers as a massive inconvenience, and bullied his way around with deeply unreasonable demands for rail workers.
Again, I am sorry for his family, and wish no one ill or dead, but as a passenger and taxpayer, I accept the reality of the situation that we are better off without him at the helm of the union.

There is a time for this sort of bollocks but it isn't now - the man has just died for heaven's sake!

 

[DaveNewcastle]

I'll second this post by ungreat:

Rest easy Bob,you will be missed
As a railway man and a member of ASLEF I always admired what you did for your members in the RMT.
To quote Winston Churchill "You have enemies? Good.That means you stood up for something,sometime,in your life"
And he certainly did that

This is my view, exactly.

And that it's a shock when one of us leaves so swftly, after only 52 years here.

 

[12CSVT]

One thing I have found distasteful over the past 12 hours is the sheer hypocricy being spouted by Boris Johnston.

At least Bob had principles.

R. I. P. to a great leader whose only 'crime' was to do the job he was elected to do.

 

[jon0844]

Boris hasn't said anything disrespectful that I can see?

 

[transmanche]

One thing I have found distasteful over the past 12 hours is the sheer hypocricy being spouted by Boris Johnston.

It's pretty standard for politicians to say nice things about their political opponents... when they're dead.

Plus you'd be surprised how often political opponents actually get along on a personal level: even Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness still keep in touch.

 

[High Dyke]

While some of his actions may have been controversial, none were ever overly extreme, while I may not have done the same if it were me, and while he annoyed a number of people, he was strong and stood up for what he believed in, and did it all to help the people who he was leading and representing; and he often did that well. What's more, despite the image, he had good at heart and many people who knew him knew him to be a really nice man beneath the shell.

I am saddened by this news, and my thoughts are with him and his family and friends. He was a strong and loyal man who was passionate about and committed to his beliefs; something lacking in many of todays leaders. May he rest in peace, and my condolences again to his family and friends.

I'll agree with that. I had the honour to meet Bob on a number of occasions. I always found him articulate when he spoke, passionate about the transport industry, defending workers rights, primarily, but also speaking out in favour of public safety; something which a number of commentators may miss.

My own father passed away when he was 63. So when you hear of others who 'go before their time' it makes you realise that there is no timetable in life... It's just a journey that may end sooner rather than later.

Condolences to those nearest and dearest to him.

 

[Roverman]

What we are seeing here from Boris and others is class and dignity. Something Bob and others were lacking last April when an 87 year old mother and grandmother died after suffering a stroke.

Now I can't even begin to agree with his politics and his attitudes but I respect his right to have had them and I acknowledge there is tonight a family out there missing their dad. No one deserves to lose a parent at 52.

 

[RichmondCommu]

One thing I have found distasteful over the past 12 hours is the sheer hypocricy being spouted by Boris Johnston.

At least Bob had principles.

R. I. P. to a great leader whose only 'crime' was to do the job he was elected to do.

Politics is very, very different from every day life. Bob Crow and Boris Johnson came from very different ends of the political spectrum but that is not to say that they didn't have respect for each other.

 

[cjmillsnun]

I met Bob Crow once. He was on the panel for Any Questions in Alton. In person you can tell he believes in what he says, and he can hold a reasoned debate with anyone. Off set he was cracking jokes with Nigel Farage. Two men at complete opposites of the political spectrum getting along famously.

He fought like a tiger for his members and spoke out.

For all of that he has my respect.

RIP Bob.

 

[185]

I've never liked Bob, but he stuck with it and gave everyone in authority hell. The Tory press' utter hatred of him probably affected public opinion of him.

Behind the scenes within the union, all was not perfect, and against advice he sued two (quite unpopular) sacked rail workers for costs, ultimately causing them to forfeit their house. They successfully appealed the amount.

That said, love him or hate him, he gave all the political loudmouths and Tory journos a run for their money.

I only hope the replacement is as persistent.


RIP Bob.

 

[Carlisle]

I believe he put the well being of his members above the well being of the railways and the passengers, but that was his job so I can hardly quibble about it.

52 is not an age anyone should be dying at. Condolences to the family.

Very we'll said ,If I had to make a wild guess ,the above post is roughly how I would think the majority of decent folk who probably know or care little about rail or union activities would reflect his passing ,a sad day R I P

 

[Leylandlad]

Whatever anyone thought of Bob Crow personally, the best tribute that can be paid to him is that senior railway jobs eg driver are now seen as highly desirable due to their pay and t & c's.

20 years ago they couldn't give them away.

RIP. 52 is way too young...makes us think how long we've all got.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I met Bob Crow once. He was on the panel for Any Questions in Alton. In person you can tell he believes in what he says, and he can hold a reasoned debate with anyone. Off set he was cracking jokes with Nigel Farage. Two men at complete opposites of the political spectrum getting along famously.

That's where I met him too! I had a longer chat with Farage afterwards, who also was someone who was genuinely nice in real life regardless of political view.

 

[ivanhoe]

100% committed to the Trade Union movement and not tarnished with any cosy relationships with politicians. Fought hard for his members, was never afraid to defend 'unpopular' causes.
Many people would love such an epitaph on their passing but only the few will earn it! Rest in peace Brother.