General secretaries I have known
I experienced five general secretaries of my union (NUR, then RMT) during my career on the railway. Another is coming up shortly, if rumours are to be believed. The first was Sid Weighell (1975-83), without doubt the most mendacious of them all. His sole aim in life was to keep the old Communist Party from taking control of “his” union. No trick was too underhand to use, especially obscure rules from the union rule book. He defied the National Executive on many occasions, with the connivance of the senior assistant general secretary, Vernon Hince, who was lining himself up to take over from...