Gerard Coyne Accuses Unite Machine of Bullying

Gerard Coyne, who narrowly lost the Unite leadership election to Len McCluskey, has put out a statement accusing the union machine of bullying and intimidating him.  He said:

It has been a very close count and the ballot sends some very serious messages to Unite.
I am proud to have run a campaign that faced up to the issues that concerned members.  Unite needs to change, and it needs to put its focus back where it belongs: on looking after the real interests of the members of the union.
It’s been a hard and robust campaign. The union machine consistently attempted to bully and intimidate me, something that has continued even after the close of polls.
Nevertheless tens of thousands of members backed my fight to change our union for the better.
On the downside, turnout has fallen disastrously.  Many members have reported to me that they did not get their ballot paper at all or if they did, that it arrived literally on the day polls closed and so was useless.
This was no vote of confidence, with falling turnout and a halving of Len McCluskey’s previous vote.  It’s time for all those that were involved to reflect on the message that the union’s membership are sending to the organisation."