As TransPennine were stripped of their government contract over poor service this morning and amid a period of widespread strike disruption, BBC Breakfast put out feelers for an impartial expert for their analysis. A fellow comrade was soon found in former Labour Party city councillor and one-time Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for Keighley and Ilkley, Henri Murison. 

Murison was introduced as “chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, the organisation that has been campaigning for better connectivity in the North,” before he launched a tirade on the “tokenistic” and “politically symbolic gesture” of the government scapegoating TransPennine. Though Murison honourably noted that he was “not here to give a political view…”

The former Labour parliamentary hopeful then continued to not give a political view by saying:

“The government’s got to answer: What are they going to do to solve this national pay dispute? Two transport secretaries ago, they picked a fight with ASLEF and other rail unions to try and position the government for a culture war against workers,” before adding that the prime minister must personally “make sure ASLEF get the deal they need to go back and get the members to agree to it.”

Murison ran for Labour selection in Keighley and Ilkley in 2013, losing out to John Grogan. Guido’s not saying that Murison should not have been on BBC Breakfast, just that as per BBC guidelines, it might have been an idea to mention his partisan affiliations…