Aslef chief rounds on Blair
The head of Aslef has called on Tony Blair to resign as leader of the Labour Party.
President Alan Donnelly said that the failure to return the railways to public ownership was against the interests of the British people.
Although more of the railways are now under state control with the replacement of Railtrack with Network Rail, ministers have repeatedly ruled out a return to the days of British Rail.
And Mr Donelly will tell delegates at Aslef’s forthcoming annual conference that Mr Blair must be replaced.
“If that change does not occur then there has to be a leadership change,” the union boss will say.
“The message to the Government is simple – Aslef does not want to run the country, it just wants the country to run.”
It is not noticeable though that any of the likely replacements for Mr Blair would be any keener on renationalisation.
It is also expected that the union will examine the possibility of reducing its contributions to the Labour party in protest against the Government’s current rail policies.
The union represents the majority of train drivers and other train crew and has about 17,000 members.
