Unite Union Machine Moves to Crown McCluskey

LAST week, with the start of nominations for the new General Secretary of Unite the Union, the Unite bureaucracy moved swiftly to back Leonard David  McCluskey (born 23 July 1950), who has been the General secretary of Unite since 2011.  According to his Wikipedia entry he previously spent some years working on the Liverpool Docks before to becoming a full-time union official.

On the 16th January 2017, Tim Lezard in Union News reported:

'Len McCluskey has swept the board in support from officers and reps in Unite in his bid to be re-election the union’s general secretary.

'McCluskey, who is standing against Gerard Coyne and Ian Allison, has won the backing of nine out of Unite’s ten regions as well as the vast majority of officers, sectoral and regional committee chairs and executive members.' 

Meanwhile, Guido Fawkes on December 22nd, 2016 wrote on his Blog that the 'Pro-Assad agitprop rag the Morning Star has endorsed Len McCluskey for the Unite leadership.'

Guido Fawkes added:  'Their floppy-haired, Oxford-educated editor Ben Chacko explains:  “Mr McCluskey’s support and advice has been of great value to us throughout his leadership”.'

Guido reminds us that 'Chacko’s (Morning Star) paper is in line to receive a good deal more than “advice” should Red Len be re-appointed General Secretary of Britain’s wealthiest union. During McCluskey’s current tenure “support” meant thousands of full-colour Morning Star subscription mail shots sent out to Unite branches across Britain at members’ expense.'

 It seems that in one leaflet Mr. McCluskey decreed:   'There is no substitute for reading the paper but you could also take out a shareholding in the Morning Star and send a regular monthly sum to the paper’s Fighting Fund.'

McCluskey became an officer of the TGWU on Merseyside in 1979, and was its campaign organiser throughout the 1980s, during that time he supported the Militant tendency, but was not a member of it.

McCluskey was elected as the National Secretary of the TGWU General Workers Group in 1990, and moved to London to work at the union headquarters.   In 2004 he became the TGWU's national organiser for the service industries.   In 2007, he was appointed as the Assistant General Secretary for Industrial Strategy of the newly merged Unite the Union.  He defines himself as being on the left of the union, and has been given the label of "Red Len" in the British press.

In 2010, McCluskey stood for election as General Secretary of Unite to replace joint-General Secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, who had both announced their retirement.
On 21 November 2010, it was announced that McCluskey had won the election.^[
McCluskey took office as the General Secretary on 1 January 2011.  In 2013, McCluskey announced that he would be running for re-election as General Secretary.^[6] He was re-elected in 2013 with the following results posted. The full election results of those elections are as follows:
Len McCluskey: 144,570 votes.
Jerry Hicks: 79,819 votes.
Number of ballot papers found to be invalid: 1,412.
Total number of valid votes cast: 224,389.
Turnout: 15.2 per cent.

History of mishandling the Falkirk election & disaffiliation threat.

In July 2013, McCluskey accused the Labour Party of 'picking the wrong fight' over the selection of a prospective candidate in the Falkirk constituency.  He described Labour party headquarters' handling of the matter as 'nothing short of disgraceful'.^[8]
In November 2013, McCluskey denied fresh claims that his Unite Union had tried to prevent a Labour Party investigation into alleged vote rigging in Falkirk.
In March 2015, McCluskey threatened to disaffiliate Unite from Labour and launch a new workers' party if Labour lost the 2015 General Election.
After moving to London as part of the T&GWU national operation in 1991 whilst still married, his partner Jennie Formby (née Sandle), gave birth to a child at Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton.

In 1994, McCluskey made headlines after it was revealed that he had received a subsidized loan of £90,000 to buy a house with Formby in NW10, London.  Mr. McCluskey lives with his partner Paula Lace.   In 2013, Jennie Formby was appointed Unite's political director on £75,000, replacing Steve (Stephen) Hart, who was the son of Judith Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark.

 Clashes in the current Election for General Secretary

McCluskey and one of the other candidates Kevin Coyne have clashed over the airwaves.  Speaking on the BBC’s Pienaar’s Politics, McCluskey accused his challenger of being a 'puppet of Labour’s hard right'.  Coyne responded, saying:

'Absolutely I am not a puppet.  The reality is I have a vision and a change agenda for our union that is about putting in back in the hand of the members and making the union focus on the issues that are important to them.'

Meanwhile, Ian Allinson in December criticised McCluskey for suggesting that workers could benefit from reforms to the free movement of people when Britain leaves the European Union.


 Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton.^[1][3][11] In 1994, McCluskey made headlines after it was revealed that he had received a subsidized loan of £90,000 to buy a house with Formby in NW10, London.^[12] McCluskey lives with his partner Paula Lace. In 2013, Jennie Formby was appointed Unite's political director on £75,000, replacing Steve (Stephen) Hart, who was the son of Judith Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark


TGWU General Workers Group in 1990, and moved to London to work in the union's national headquarters.^[1][3]
TGWU in Merseyside in 1979 and was its campaign organiser throughout the 1980s,^[3][5] during which he supported Militant tendency, but was not a member of it.^[1]

He

McCluskey was elected as the National Secretary of the TGWU General Workers Group in 1990, and moved to London to work in the union's national headquarters.^[1][3] In 2004 he became the TGWU's national organiser for the service industries.^[3] In 2007, he was appointed as the Assistant General Secretary for Industrial Strategy of the newly merged Unite the Union.^[3] He defines himself as being on the left of the union, and has been given the label of "Red Len" in the British press because of his involvement in Unite's dispute with British Airways.^[5]
In 2010, McCluskey stood for election as General Secretary of Unite to replace joint-General Secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, who had both announced their retirement. On 21 November 2010, it was announced that McCluskey had won the election.^[3] Derek Simpson retired a few weeks later, in December 2010, and Tony Woodley followed shortly after that, leaving McCluskey to take office as the General Secretary on 1 January 2011.^[5] In 2013, McCluskey announced that he would be running for re-election as General Secretary.^[6] He was re-elected in 2013 with the following results posted. The full election results are as follows:
Len McCluskey: 144,570 votes.
Jerry Hicks: 79,819 votes.
Number of ballot papers found to be invalid: 1,412.
Total number of valid votes cast: 224,389.
Turnout: 15.2 per cent.

'Pro-Assad agitprop rag the Morning Star has endorsed Len McCluskey for the Unite leadership. Their floppy-haired, Oxford-educated editor Ben Chacko explains:

“Mr McCluskey’s support and advice has been of great value to us throughout his leadership.”

Guido concluded his critique:  'Len’s “support” has indeed been of “great value” to the Morning Star, least they can do is repay the favour…'

“We’re backing Len” – McCluskey sweeps board with endorsements from officers and reps

16th January 2017 Tim Lezard   News   No comments

An advert in the Morning Star, showing the nominations received by Len McCluskey

An advert in the Morning Star, showing the nominations received by Len McCluskey

An advert in the Morning Star, showing the nominations received by Len McCluskey

Len McCluskey has swept the board in support from officers and reps in Unite in his bid to be re-election the union’s general secretary.

McCluskey, who is standing against Gerard Coyne and Ian Allison, has won the backing of nine out of Unite’s ten regions as well as the vast majority of officers, sectoral and regional committee chairs and executive members.

He said: “I am deeply honoured to have received the over-whelming support of the people who give their time to build this great union and defend our members.

“Their vote of confidence in me is phenomenal.  It sends a signal to our members that despite what one of my opponents may say, this union has gone from strength to strength under my leadership.

“This sends a clear signal to Unite members that their union is stable and united, determined to deliver for them in our workplaces – and wants to stay on this course.

“I hope now that this will persuade one general secretary candidate to desist from the nonsense claims he is making about our union, assisted all too eagerly by parts of the media who are openly hostile to this movement.

“The truth about Unite is that it is proudly united, democratic, progressive and will never, as long as I lead it, ever turn its back on its members.”

Meanwhile, McCluskey and Coyne clashed yesterday over the airwaves. Speaking on the BBC’s Pienaar’s Politics, McCluskey accused his challenger of being a “puppet of Labour’s hard right”. Coyne responded, saying: “Absolutely I am not a puppet. The reality is I have a vision and a change agenda for our union that is about putting in back in the hand of the members and making the union focus on the issues that are important to them.”

Expelled Labour MP, Eric Joyce, Makes Allegations Against Unite & Labour Party

FALKIRK MP Eric Joyce has said Labour is protecting the position of the Unite union organiser, Stevie Deans, at the centre of a selection row because it 'fears' the organisation’s leadership.  Stevie Deans has been accused of trying to rig the selection of the next Labour candidate in Falkirk.  But Mr Joyce said Mr Deans remained party chairman in the constituency.

Mr Deans has now resigned from his job at the Grangemouth oil refinery, where he was facing a separate inquiry.  Unite previously voted for strike action over his treatment, which led to last week’s shutdown of the plant.

Mr Deans, the convener of the union in Scotland, worked at Grangemouth for about 25 years. Before resigning, he had been suspended by Ineos over claims he had used company time for union business.
Ineos, which runs the oil refinery and petrochemical works, had been expected to reveal the outcome of a disciplinary case against him on Tuesday.

Separately, Mr Deans was accused of trying to rig the selection of a parliamentary candidate in his role as chairman of the Labour Party in the Falkirk constituency.  It was claimed he had signed up dozens of new members for Labour, promising the recruits that Unite would pay their membership fees on the understanding they would back the union’s choice in the contest to select someone to replace Mr Joyce.

Labour decided in September that no individual or organisation had broken rules after evidence of wrongdoing was withdrawn.  But Mr Joyce, who lost the Labour whip and agreed to stand down following his conviction for assault in a House of Commons bar, told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme:
'The Labour Party, because it won’t allow people to elect a new chair, is effectively keeping Deans in place, and I think it’s to some degree because of a substantial amount of fear inside the Labour Party of the Unite leadership.'

Mr Joyce said Unite’s primary objective was moving Labour to the left rather than protecting workers’ interests.  But the union’s chief of staff, Andrew Murray, told Today Mr Joyce had given a 'wrong reading' of the situation.  He added that there was 'no evidence' that 'anything untoward' had taken place.

Personal reflections on the third battle of Falkirk

FIRSTLY, to declare an interest or two.  I was born in Falkirk, still have relatives there and am a fairly frequent visitor.  Second, unlike many who post on this blog I am an unrepentant Parliamentary Roader, tortuous as that path so often is. So, I think I have a bit of an interest in the latest row surrounding the town of my birth and its politics.

My gut instinct is a plague on the houses of both Miliband and McCluskey, both of whom are playing out personal power struggles and virility tests to show which corrupt Tammany Hall clique has the right to manipulate a Labour candidacy.

Let the self righteous and self-indigant travel back a few years, however. Falkirk had a great Labour MP, in the shape of Denis Canavan, from 1974 until 2000, a socialist with the town and its hinterland in his life blood (I cannot but help thinking that Miliband minor and McCluskey have had to reach out for maps recently to find out where this battleground that each has set so much store on is actually located).

Check Denis' parliamentary record - always on the side of the good guys, whenever he rebelled.  His crime? A bit too independent for the likes of New Labour. He didn't follow the Blair/Brown/Mandlesohn mantra and had the temerity to believe that Scotland could have done with a bit more independence from the corrupt imperial Parliament at Westminster, at the turn of the millennium. 

So, the Mr Fixits and bag carriers (you know the kind - Oxbridge - posh internship snivelling and bag-carrying around power brokers - Mini Mili-like, - without a bloody clue, in fact) decided, as a member of the awkward squad, Denis had to be blocked and frustrated.  He was too independent, literally and metaphorically, by half, when he tried to stand as the Labour Candidate for the Scottish Parliament in 2000.

So, the apparatchiks prevented it from happening.  Oh, how clever they must have felt - those smug, self-satisfied bunnies who were busy shovelling away expenses and mopping up dubious money to support their Parliamentary careers and wider ambitions.

Did the people of Falkirk have a say? Well, no and yes. Despite the fact that Canavan's candidacy had the support of 97% of the local party, they couldn't stop the Labour-hijacking, carpet-bagging, power-broking know-alls blocking Denis as an "official" candidate for Holyrood.  But the people of Falkirk lived in a democracy and gave the apparatchiks a very bloody nose.

Denis stood as an independent candidate in the Holyrood elections, was victorious and obtained the highest majority of any MSP when he re contested the seat in 2003. He retired from Parliamentary politics in 2007, following some appalling personal tragedies.  But when I last saw him, two years ago, his socialism was undimmed.  A true fighter on behalf of working class aims, aspirations and ambitions. The very kind of person the people of Falkirk crave for as a an MP, today - as the power brokers would find out, if they bothered to ask.

But of course what is really needed, says McCluskey and his cronies, is his "good friend" Karie Murphy, with the "working class credentials" that he seeks, being office manager to ex Labour Election Mr Fixit, Tom Watson MP.  Doubtless, the Miliband clique have another whizzo candidate up their sleeve - like the drunken and brawling ex army major, Eric Joyce, that they found as such a suitable replacement for Denis 13 years ago.

So, where does my Parliamentary roading take me?  You could try a book written by Mini-Mili's dad, 50 years ago, Parliamentary Socialism.  I recommend it.  Read it and you will conclude that Ed isn't fit to ties the man's boots, never mind carry his bags.

And a personal bit.  I was born in a private nursing home in Falkirk, the year before the NHS had its own birth, 65 years ago this week,  as Labour's greatest achievement, because there was no decent public maternity provision for working people.  If Labour had been in the hands of the pygmies, triangulatores, third-wayers, cutters, trimmers, headline grabbers, compromisers no-hopers then that it is today, the NHS would never have seen the light of day.  Where are Clem and Nye, when you need them?

And the third battle of Falkirk?  Well, the previous two turned out to be Pyrrhic victories for failing regimes.  The first, in 1298, was a victory for Edward II, who thought he had conquered the Scots, only to be trounced at Bannockburn 16 years later.  And the second?  The 'Old Pretender's' last stand before the Jacobite rebellion petered out and Bonnie Prince Charlie went on his way to Skye, in 1746.  Is it too much to hope that the third battle will be equally Pyrrhic for whichever Pretender - Len or Ed - wins, and that Socialism will, in the long run become the victor?  We live in hope!!