I was in my early thirties when I found myself with a huge responsibility. As part of my job as the Political Officer of the RMT trade union, I was assigned to work with the opposition Labour Party on its response to the legislation being introduced by John Major’s Conservative Government to break-up and privatise Britain’s hitherto state-owned and integrated national railway system.
Throughout the entirety of 1993, it was my privilege to collaborate with a series of Shadow Ministers in both Houses of Parliament to try to defeat the Government’s Railways Bill or – at the very least – mitigate some of its consequences for railway workers, customers and communities. The measure was in fact so controversial that I found myself liaising with Liberal Democrat MPs and Peers, independent members of the House of Lords and even dissident Conservatives in securing important concessions from Ministers.