On Have I Got News For You last night, celebrities made fun of militant union leader Mick Lynch and said it was his responsibility that fewer people than anticipated did not go to London to witness the Queen lie in state.
Actor Richard Ayoade made an effort to explain why just 250,000 people came out to witness Her Majesty’s casket at Westminster Hall while making reference to the railway strikes that have paralysed the nation for months on end.
He made a covert allusion to Mr. Lynch, the RMT general-secretary, who was seated to his left, when he added, “On prior times, individuals from all over the nation have travelled to London, but isn’t it much tougher to travel these days?”
After Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96, Mr. Ayoade questioned if “anything occurred” during the comedy panel’s break. Mr. Lynch quipped that he had “called off a few strikes,” alluding to the fact that these were suspended during the time of national mourning.
Just one day after the RMT stated that 40,000 Network Rail employees and 15 train operating firms will strike on October 8, he appeared on Have I Got News For You.
In the meanwhile, claims that the 320,000 number for Churchill’s laying in state was exaggerated by Parliamentary authorities were made and tight security was blamed for hold-ups.
Roisin Conaty, a comedian and HIGNFY guest, said that “the internet” and “people having other things” enabled people to see the Queen lie in state from the comfort of their own homes.
Paul Merton, a regular on the panel, also spoke up and said, “A live broadcast, ironically.”
Mr. Ayoade also mentioned Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield going to the lying-in-state and “skipping the line,” which was 25 hours long at its busiest.
The national controversy surrounding the Lying-in-State line is this. The largest thing to have occurred, he said. ITV’s Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby reportedly suddenly showed up at Westminster Hall on Sunday.
Just appeared? Ms. Conaty made a joke. Before Mr. Ayoade continued, “Exactly, without having spent the last 36 hours waiting,” he said, “Like a haunting?
When asked how long the line was, regular panellist Ian Hislop chimed in, adding wryly: “It began at approximately 14 hours, then 15, and in the end it was […] six years.”
People enjoyed the sensation of standing in line, he said, but they were irate when they believed someone had jumped the line.
Both ITV This Morning hosts have denied misconduct and said that they were there to shoot the historic occasion with other journalists and broadcasters.
They did not skip the line, get VIP access, or file past the Queen laying in state, according to a statement from ITV. Instead, they were there in their official position as members of the international media covering the occasion.
The line itself attracted a lot of attention, and David Beckham was one of the people that waited in line for hours.
It is known that the speed at which it moved changed greatly, with a number of reasons including the weather and workers becoming acquainted to the system.
In his countless straight-talking TV and radio appearances, Mr. Lynch has been labelled a “media celebrity” for defending multiple strikes that have crippled the UK’s trains and caused significant hardship for millions of commuters.
As part of a continuing disagreement over wages, employment, and conditions, a new strike date was established on Thursday. This will be the third rail strike currently scheduled for October.
Aslef union members from 12 railway operators have already scheduled rail strikes for October 1 and October 5. This might result in further travel difficulties for travellers.
The meeting between Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the new transport secretary, and the union, according to RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, was positive.
In order to achieve an acceptable resolution, he stated, “We appreciate this more constructive attitude from the government to engage with us as a starting step.”
However, because no fresh proposal has been made, our members are forced to continue their strike.
The employers and the government must realise that although we will continue to negotiate in good faith, our industrial campaign will last whatever long it takes.
‘We have received notice of another strike by the RMT on Saturday, October 8, barely one week after another walkout it has coordinated with train drivers at Aslef,’ a Network Rail official said.
We will be requesting that people only go if absolutely essential owing to the limited service that will be in place as a result of this current strike, which will once again cause extremely substantial inconvenience for customers.
Timetables in full for all scheduled strike days will be released as soon as possible.
Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains, and GTR are among the 15 train operating companies participating in addition to Network Rail (including Gatwick Express).
The staged walkouts coincide with a busy sporting weekend, as many Premier League games, including Chelsea vs. Wolverhampton, Bournemouth vs. Leicester City, and Man City vs. Southampton, are scheduled for October 8.
The strike is another another setback for railway travellers, who were already bracing themselves for more travel hardships next month when drivers in the Aslef union at 12 train operators decided to strike on October 1 and October 5.
Travel to and from the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, scheduled for October 2–5, will be impacted by staged walkouts.
Routes into and around the city will be interrupted, which will have an effect on runners planning to arrive in London for the London Marathon on October 2.
On Friday, RMT workers hired by contractors that clean Avanti West Coast trains will go on strike for 24 hours over wages.
Following the Queen’s passing, the drivers’ strike that was scheduled to take place on September 15 and 17 was cancelled out of respect.
Rail employees’ strike during the formal time of mourning, according to RMT Union general-secretary Mr. Lynch, has been “postponed” as the union joins “the entire country in paying its respects.”
We extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and the nation, he said.
The action follows a summer of unrest during which thousands of employees in the rail, telecom, legal, and postal industries staged walkouts in protest of wages and working conditions.
Due to a disagreement over Legal Aid costs, criminal barristers have gone on indefinite strike. Postal employees have also gone on strike, and a second 48-hour walkout is scheduled for later this month.
After the former queen was put to rest in an emotional day of pomp and circumstance, Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan provided the 250,000 number.
According to the Parliament website, during Winston Churchill’s laying in state in 1965, which lasted three days as opposed to four and a half this time, 320,000 individuals saw his coffin. In 1952, it’s estimated that 300,000 people paid their respects to George VI.
Sources said that one reason was airport-style security measures. They also claimed that the count, which has not yet been finalised, was far more “robust” than for past events.
Historical estimations should be used with a “pinch of salt,” a source told MailOnline. They said that prior Black Rods seemed to have been pushing for each number to rise each time there was a lying in state.
Ms. Donelan praised the volunteers who assisted in organising and supporting the recent events, including the lying-in-state, and called the line outside Westminster Hall “phenomenal.”
More than 250,000 people, she said to Sky News, had seen the coffin, but authorities were still “crunching the actual data.”
There is no dress rehearsal for this type of circumstance, Ms. Donelan said on BBC Breakfast. Although it has been in the works for a while, we stressed-tested everything and spoke with neighbourhood organisations.
She appreciated the assistance of the Red Cross, the police, the Samaritans, and the businesses along the South Bank that opened their doors to people waiting in line.
“I want to pay respect to everyone who was involved – all the volunteers, all the marshals, the stewards, it was wonderful. It was a genuine team effort to let people to have that opportunity to say farewell.”
Ms. Donelan said that the majority of Britons would consider the expense of the Queen’s burial to be “money well spent,” but she was unable to estimate how much it may cost.
When questioned about the funeral’s price on Sky News, she said, “I’m not aware of the specific costings but as I say, I believe the British people would argue that it was money well spent.
“You saw so many thousands there, and I don’t believe anybody can claim that our late queen didn’t deserve that send-off, given the responsibility and the selfless devotion that she committed to over 70 years,” the speaker said.
It would be “downright ridiculous,” she said, to imply otherwise.
‘There was a wonderful feeling of the neighbourhood coming together. She said, “I always think of our late king as the glue that held society together.