Andrew Murray (trade unionist) facts for kids

Andrew Philip Drummond-Murray, known as Andrew Murray, is a British official and activist. He has worked with trade unions and the Labour Party. From 2018 to 2020, he was an adviser to Jeremy Corbyn, who was then the Leader of the Opposition.

Andrew Murray comes from a Scottish family. He started his career as a journalist. Later, he became a senior official for several trade unions. He was also the chair of the Stop the War Coalition for many years. He joined the Labour Party in 2016. Before that, he was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Communist Party of Britain for about 40 years.

Murray writes for the Morning Star and Tribune newspapers.

About Andrew Murray

Early Life and Education

Worth School

Andrew Murray was born in 1958. His father, Peter Drummond-Murray, was a stockbroker and banker. His mother, Barbara Mary Hope, was the daughter of Lord Rankeillour, a former politician.

Murray went to Worth School, which is a private boarding school in Sussex. He left school at 16. He had four 'O' levels, which were exams students took in the UK.

Starting in Journalism

After school, Murray worked as a messenger for Reader's Digest. He was also a copy boy for the International Herald Tribune. A copy boy helps journalists by running messages and getting things. He then trained in journalism at the Sussex Express.

At 19, Murray became a parliamentary lobby correspondent. This meant he reported on what was happening in the UK Parliament. He reported on a big event in Russia in 1977. He was also one of the first journalists at the scene when a politician, Airey Neave, was sadly killed in 1979. Murray also worked for the Morning Star and a Russian news agency called RIA Novosti. He sometimes wrote for The Guardian until 2013.

Working with Trade Unions

Andrew Murray worked for the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) from 1987 to 1998 and again from 2003. Trade unions are groups that protect workers' rights. He helped with a strike by British Airways cabin crew in 1997. He also helped with election campaigns for union leaders like Bill Morris and Tony Woodley.

When the T&G union merged with another union to form Unite, Murray helped Len McCluskey get elected as the union's general secretary in 2010. In 2011, Murray became the chief of staff for Unite. This meant he managed many of the union's main departments and regions. He was also elected to the TUC General Council in April 2011. The TUC General Council is a group of leaders from different trade unions.

He also worked as an official for another union called the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF).

Political Activities

Andrew Murray joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1976 when he was 18. This party had specific political ideas about how society should be run. After this party ended in 1991, he joined the Communist Party of Britain in 1995. He was part of this party's executive committee from 2000 to 2004 and again from 2008 to 2011.

Murray was the chair of the Stop the War Coalition. This group was formed to protest against wars, especially the Iraq War in 2003. He led a very large protest against the Iraq War in 2003. He stepped down as chair in 2011, and Jeremy Corbyn took over. Murray became chair again in 2015 after Corbyn became the leader of the Labour Party.

In 2014, he helped start a group called Solidarity with the Antifascist Resistance in Ukraine. This group organized protests outside the Ukrainian embassy in London. Later, in 2018, the Ukrainian government said he was not allowed to enter Ukraine for three years.

Working with the Labour Party

By November 2016, Andrew Murray had joined the Labour Party. In May 2017, he worked at the Labour Party headquarters during the 2017 United Kingdom general election. This was a big election in the UK.

His appointment caused some discussion because of his past roles in the Communist Party. However, Jeremy Corbyn said Murray was very skilled and professional. John McDonnell, another Labour politician, defended the decision, saying Murray had joined Labour.

After the 2017 election, Murray commented on the surprising results. He said there was "a tremendous moment of elation" when it became clear that Labour had made a huge comeback in public opinion. In February 2018, he started working as a consultant for the Labour Party part-time.

Some former Labour Members of Parliament (MPs), like Angela Smith and Mike Gapes, mentioned Murray's involvement as one reason they left the Labour Party. In February 2020, Murray resigned from his role as an adviser to the Labour Party. He returned to working full-time for Unite.

Books and Writings

Andrew Murray has written several books and many shorter articles. Some of his books include:

• The Communist Party of Great Britain: A Historical Analysis to 1941 (1995)
• Flashpoint World War III (1997)
• Off the Rails (2001)
• A New Labour Nightmare: Return of the Awkward Squad (2003)
• Stop the War: The Story of Britain's Biggest Mass Movement (with Lindsey German, 2005)
• The T&G Story (2008)
• The Fall and Rise of the British Left (2019)

He continues to write for the Morning Star and Tribune.

Views and Opinions

The Imperial Controversy

In his 2009 book, The Imperial Controversy, Andrew Murray discussed historical figures. He wrote that Adolf Hitler is seen as uniquely bad because his victims were mostly white Europeans. He compared this to the victims of colonialism, who were often non-white. He also wrote that "There is nothing in the imperial record as chilling as the systematic extermination of the great majority of Europe's Jews."

Other Views

In 1999, Murray wrote about the Admiral Duncan pub bombing. He said that the event seemed "odd" and wondered if security services might have been involved in manipulating extremist groups. In 2019, he clarified that his comments were just "conjecture and supposition" and that David Copeland was responsible for the bombing.

Murray has also commented on historical figures like Josef Stalin and Melita Norwood, a spy. He has said that the strength of the Soviet Union helped world peace. He also stated that he would not support anyone acting as Melita Norwood did today.

He has been a critic of Israel. In a 2012 speech, he said that "Palestine stands today undefeated and unbowed" and that "every time you kill a Palestinian child, you are digging your own graves."

After the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting, Murray said that the violence in Paris was small compared to the violence caused by imperialism around the world.

Personal Life

Andrew Murray was married to Susan Michie from 1981 to 1997. He married again in 2003. He has three children with Susan Michie and a stepdaughter.