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 Labour Party.
Born into a Scottish family, Murray started his career as a journalist. Later, he became a senior official for several trade unions. He was the chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, a group that protests against wars, from 2001 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2016. After being a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and then the Communist Party of Britain for 40 years, he joined the Labour Party in 2016.
Murray often writes for the Morning Star and Tribune newspapers.
Contents
Andrew Murray's Early Life and Journalism
School Days and First Jobs
Andrew Murray was born in 1958. His father, Peter Drummond-Murray of Mastrick, was a stockbroker and banker. His mother, Barbara Mary Hope, was the daughter of a former politician. Andrew went to Worth School, a boarding school in Sussex, England. He left school at 16 with four 'O' levels, which are school qualifications.
Starting in Journalism
After school, Murray worked as a messenger at Reader's Digest magazine. He was also a copy boy for the International Herald Tribune newspaper. He then trained as a journalist at the Sussex Express. At 19, he became a parliamentary lobby correspondent. This meant he reported on what was happening in the British Parliament.
He once marched with a million people in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg, Russia) in 1977. He was also one of the first journalists to report when a politician named Airey Neave was killed in 1979. Murray also worked for the Morning Star and the Soviet news agency RIA Novosti. He sometimes wrote for The Guardian newspaper until 2013.
Andrew Murray's Work with Trade Unions
Helping Workers' Rights
Andrew Murray has spent many years working for trade unions. These are groups that protect the rights of workers. From 1987 to 1998, and again from 2003, he worked for the Transport and General Workers Union. He helped with important events like the British Airways cabin crew strike in 1997. He also helped with the election campaigns for union leaders like Bill Morris and Tony Woodley.
Leading Unite the Union
In 2011, Murray became the chief of staff for Unite, a large trade union. He was in charge of many of the union's departments and regions. He was also elected to the TUC General Council, which is a group of leaders from different unions.
He also worked for another union called the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), which represents train drivers.
Andrew Murray's Political Activities
Joining the Communist Party
Andrew Murray joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1976 when he was 18. He became friends with Seumas Milne, who also worked in politics. After the Communist Party of Great Britain ended in 1991, Murray joined the Communist Party of Britain. He was part of its executive committee, which is like a leadership group, from 2000 to 2004 and again from 2008 to 2011.
In 2015, he said that he still believed in communism as a goal for society. However, he added that it should not be achieved using the methods of the 20th century, which he felt had failed.
Leading the Stop the War Coalition
Murray was the chairman of the Stop the War Coalition. This group organizes protests against wars. In 2003, he led a large protest against the Iraq War. This protest is considered one of the biggest political demonstrations in British history.
He stepped down as chairman in 2011, and Jeremy Corbyn took over. But Murray returned to the role in 2015 when Corbyn became the leader of the Labour Party.
Working with the Labour Party
By November 2016, Andrew Murray had joined the Labour Party. In May 2017, he started working at the Labour Party headquarters during the 2017 United Kingdom general election. This appointment caused some discussion because of his past leadership roles in the Communist Party.
However, Jeremy Corbyn said Murray was a very skilled and professional person. John McDonnell, another Labour politician, defended the decision, saying Murray had left the Communist Party and joined Labour.
After the 2017 election, Murray said that the Labour Party's campaign had achieved an amazing change in public opinion. In 2018, he worked as a consultant for the Labour Party for a few days a week.
In 2018, the Ukrainian government said it had banned Murray from entering Ukraine for three years. They accused him of supporting pro-Russian activities. Murray said he had never tried to go to Ukraine and that the ban was an attempt to discredit him and 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.
Andrew Murray's 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) and Stop the War: The Story of Britain's Biggest Mass Movement (2005), which he wrote with Lindsey German. In 2019, he published The Fall and Rise of the British Left, which looked at the history of British Socialism.
He continues to write for the Morning Star and Tribune.
Andrew Murray's Views
Thoughts on the Admiral Duncan Bombing
In 1999, after a neo-Nazi bombing at the Admiral Duncan pub, Murray wrote in the Morning Star that the event seemed strange. He wondered if some groups might have been influenced by security services. In 2019, he clarified that his earlier thoughts were just guesses and that he believed David Copeland was solely responsible for the bombing.
Views on Communism and Other Topics
In 1999, Murray wrote about Joseph Stalin, a former leader of the Soviet Union. He noted that Stalin's time involved a socialist system and the defeat of Nazi Germany, but also harsh measures. Murray said that if you believe the worst crimes of the century were caused by imperialism, then you might wonder why those who committed those crimes hated Stalin so much.
In 2008, Murray praised the Soviet Union's policy of promoting the cultural and language development of different ethnic groups. However, some critics, like Edward Lucas, said Murray ignored the forced movement of groups like the Crimean Tatars under Stalin.
Murray has also been a strong critic of Israel. In a 2012 speech, he said that Palestine remained strong despite aggression. He also stated that every time a Palestinian child is killed, it harms Israel's own future.
When writing about the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris, Murray said that the violence there was small compared to the violence caused by imperialism around the world.
Andrew Murray's Personal Life
Andrew Murray was married to Susan Michie from 1981 to 1997. He remarried in 2003. He has three children with Michie and a stepdaughter.
See Also
- Stop the War Coalition
- Communist Party of Britain
- Unite the Union
Images for kids
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Worth School
