Skwawkbox has already reported support of right-wingers, but pressure is being applied behind the scenes to get disgraced right-winger Coyne not to stand in case he takes votes from Steve Turner
Last month, Skwawkbox exclusively covered the decision of right-wingers within the Labour party to swing their support behind Steve Turner in the contest to become Unite’s next general secretary after their 2017 candidate, the disgraced Gerard Coyne, looked set to fail to qualify for the ballot. But it seems the Labour right has now gone further.
The BBC’s Iain Watson, in his coverage of the formal start of the campaign after incumbent Len McCluskey confirmed yesterday that he is retiring, noted that:
there is nervousness amongst some Starmer supporters that his candidature would take votes from Steve Turner and in turn increase the chances of their “nightmare scenario” – Howard Beckett winning.
At least one shadow minister has urged Mr Coyne to rethink.
Keir Starmer and his supporters feel that Turner’s readiness to make an accommodation with Labour’s current leader means he will not represent too great a threat to their interests and their headlong rush to the right compared to the ‘nightmare scenario’ of a win for Beckett, who has consistently called out the eagerness of Starmer and the Labour right not to challenge the Tories even while the ramp up their assault on working people and their rights, pay and conditions.
Meanwhile, Blairite Rachel Reeves has signalled yet another attack on the union movement itself, telling ITV’s Peston show that she is ‘relaxed’ about restricting unions in the same way as the unaccountable lobbyists representing corporations and billionaires:
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To intimate that Steve Turner is RW is palpable nonsense.
He never intimated any such thing. Stop making slanderous accusations.
This your new method, wee fella? That’s twice in as many days you’ve insinuated things that were never said.
Coyne’s a spoilt little shite, I doubt he’ll spew it after his previous wailing and gnashing of teeth. reeves = no surprise.
If he wasn’t, Starmer wouldn’t be intervening in a union leadership election that is none of his business just to try and make sure Turner wins. Starmer can’t just treat everybody who isn’t anti-Corbyn as the enemy, and there’s no reason for him to be fixated with stopping Beckett.
Starmer needs to stay out of this contest- it’s none of his business who leads this union. He has no reason to be fixated with stopping Beckett. Beckett is just as qualified and responsible as anyone else who could lead Unite.
kenburch – That’s a matter of opinion.
Then explain YOUR opinion on this. You appear to be vehemently opposed to Beckett- you kind of need to explain why it’s so important to you to stop him- and it seems to me you can’t really claim he’s a puppet of Momentum when Momentum, for whatever reason, has endorsed Turner.
Starmer has spent the first year of his leadership going out of his way to stamp out any and all expressions of any sort of dissent-other than dissent from his right. Would you not agree that he’s gone more than far enough with that and needs to ease up on his obsession with making Labour an internal democracy-free zone? It’s not as if preventing any debate on anything within the party is ever going to gain Labour any votes from anybody.
And since Turner’s UL endorsement was clearly a rigged thing- he only won because a lot of Beckett supporters were barred from casting ballots while late-arriving Turner supporters were ALL allowed to vote, who are you to act as if it’s Beckett that has the obligation to get out? if Turner is the further-right candidate- and by all accounts he is- there’s no reason he should have the UL endorsement at all- it never serves the greater good of the Left for the less-left person to be given an endorsement or made a candidate- and since a Labour victory hardly depends on Turner leading Unite instead of Beckett. Labour’s winning the next election does not depend on the union leaders associated with it being as un-radical as possible.
Oh boy is the cult of new Labour 2.0 getting rattled? Now they have to try and fix every damn contest just to make sure the designated candidate wins.
FFS they have pulled this same crap again and again! I suppose next we can expect the normal barrage of story’s and articles in friendly MSM places. Regarding their candidates sterling qualities and accomplishments, his wonderful character and accomplishments all subtly changed the deceptions to try and confuse the voters.
This BS it’s almost like a playbook for scumbags…
It is palpable nonsense not to assume that Steve Turner’s willingness to accommodate with a right wing Labour leadership would be contrary to the interests of union members and their interests.
Lisa Nandy has already said that Labour should not back sides in industrial disputes, and Rachel Reeves has shown where she stands.
Palpable indeed.
The election will show whether the small number of members who aren’t completely apathetic want a leader who wants to run Unite or one that wants to run the Labour party.
Whereas, there is currently a someone who appears to want to RUIN the LP who’s in charge.
Not for much longer.
So…you’ve finally turned against Starmer, Steve?
kenburch – Not at all, I was referring to Len McCluskey.
The Unions are as good as separated entities, should Thatcher’s Neolabour Party continue to occupy The UK Labour Party! Surely when people read this stuff, they can see that we are not dealing with “The Right” and “The Left” of the same Party!
We are dealing with Two Polar Opposite Parties Altogether!
The Parasite Party = Thatcher’s Neoliberal Neolabour Party Tories.
The now dead Host Party = The Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party.
How did we get to a situation where right wingers were even allowed to stand for leader of a Union in the first place???
Its called democracy.
What is your issue with Trickett, anyway? Why do you find it intolerable that he might lead Unite?
kenburch – Trickett ???
Beckett, I meant. You’re implacable opposed to both of them anyway- and you’ve no reason to be obsessed with seeing either made irrelevant within the party.
Interesting that Thatcher’s Neolabour Party wants their Tory Golden Boy Coyne to pull out of the race so that he does not detract from a “Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party Candidate” and so that Thatcher’s Neolabour Party has two Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party Candidates in the Race for UNITE GS!?
Queerer and Queerer!
Somehow I get the feeling that Turner may not be all THAT “Working Class” in his intentions and future aspirations, after all!
Beckett is the problem here, he’s the one who will split the left vote and perhaps enable a Coyne win.
You’re insane! Let me get this straight, Thatcher’s Neolabour Party are pulling “The ONLY” Thatcherite Candidate so that they end up with Two Non Thatcherite Neolabour Party “Left Wing” Candidates, because………They want to “split the Left Wing Vote”?
2 “Left” Candidates – 1 “Right” Candidate = 2 “Left” Candidates
End Result one or the other “Left Candidate” Wins, not exactly the result one would expect Thatcher’s Neolabour Party to want to end up with!?
If they wanted a “Right Winger” to win why pull “The ONLY Right Winger Candidate”!?
You Tories have some bizarre ideas!
If Coyne does stand then Beckett will split the left wing vote. In a FPTP system there is every chance that Coyne could win. The Tories frequently win power on the back of a minority vote.
There’s no way Turner could be willing to cooperate with what Starmer’s doing to the party and still, in any universe, be considered “Left”.
kenburch – You are entitled to your opinion, everyone has one.
He’d better speak up, it looks like he is the, Thatcher’s Neolabour Party’s, chosen golden boy. Starmer wants to take out the One Truly Right Wing Golden Boy Coyne and replace him with Turner up against Beckett. He needs to defend himself against this revelation, it’s queer af, but then our times are queer af!
How can you “split the left vote” when there’s only one left candidate?
timfrom – The candidate endorsed by UL.
Why should Beckett get out rather than Turner? Beckett is the far more popular of the two.
kenburch – We’ll know whether that is true or not when the ballots have been counted, but please feel free to stare into your crystal ball until then. I wonder if there will be an improvement on last times turnout of 12.2% (<9% for the exec elections).
“Not for much longer.” – Where do you get your inside information? Please tell when Starmer is leaving.
goldbach – I was obviously referring to Len McCluskey and his cohorts
McCluskey has never done Labour any harm. Union leaders are SUPPOSED to be fighting hard for their members- and there’s no way to the right of McCluskey to do that.
It’s inevitable that Sir Keir’s days as leader are numbered. Steveh hasn’t admitted ‘insider information’. The Right in Labour are expected to mount a coup once 6th May turns into Keir Starmer’s ‘Just Desserts Day’. Sad, really.
qwertboi – I doubt that the RW will mount a challenge for the leadership, whatever they are they are not stupid. They would have little to gain and everything to lose. They will do the sensible thing and wait until after the next GE before making any bids for the leadership.
Looks like some people have forgotten that the world-ridiculed “Chicken Coup” occurred less than a year after a leadership election, and therefore, before the next general election which just hastened the demise of the ineffectual Mrs May. It indicated the potential of a newly reinvigorated Labour Party, so frightening the soiled ranks of the Labour right that further sabotage and treachery had to be brought into play. That’s one of the main reasons why mention of 2017 never passes their lips, and why 2019 is purposefully and deceptively described in distorted statistical terms that overlook previous worse election results.
It is remarkable how the terms “cult” and “don’t want to win”, recent sticks used to beat the left, actually apply to their opponents within the party.
Ludus57 – Well given that it is very unlikely the left will have a candidate in the race what do you hope to gain from a leadership challenge?
Errrrrr………Democracy Einstein, you know, like when the right tear into each other to gain/lose power.
In real terms, a leadership challenge would be an unforgivable distraction from what is supposed to be the real job at hand, of meeting this useless and corrupt government with strong opposition.
My hope would be that, in the midst of the chaos – it would be a Labour right matter after all – somebody realized that they were elected to parliament to do a job for their electorate, and not to further their own selfish career ambitions.
Ludus57 – On that we can agree.
We have one of two options:
ONE:
At the next GE if your MP/Candidate is Neolabour Party Tory Vote for their Strongest Opposition. No matter what or who. (Keep in mind these are Tories, out to Destroy Democratic Socialism “for Queen and County” They are NOT Labour! Labour is the Host Body and they are The Parasite that consumed all but the squirming skin of The UK Labour Party)
If your MP/Candidate is Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party without a shadow of a doubt Vote For Them! We will Pick up a small handful lost to Tories by Sabotage in 2019 plus hopefully keep our 10/15 Democratic Socialist MPs. The Expelled and Suspended MPs will be returned under DEMOCRATIC Socialist Rules. We might even end up with Small Party of 20/30 MPs. Then Neoliberal Neolabour Free, we will soon grab seats left right and centre with the Largest Membership and the HOPE of 2015 to 2017 Restored.
TWO:
We leave and Form a Party and Union from Scratch, with MPs currently seated a massive membership and a candidate for every seat and our total dedication.
Both cases we The People and The Members will have to work our buts off!
2015 to 2020 will seem like summer camp in comparison, if we are to go BIG at the following GE! By then the Neolabour will be nothing more than another Lib Dem Tory Party, that’s if any of them survive!
Have you found a credible leader to coalesce behind yet, or is that bit of the great plan still in the planning stage?
That would be for The People to decide my personal support would be young and female.
Zarah
Claudia
Bel
And of course if the Starmertruppen allow Democratic Socialist UK Labour Candidates to stand Laura P and Laura S.
skellyknelly – Stiill in the pre-planning stage then.
ps: Claudia is currently suspended from the party pending the outcome of her criminal trial for harassment.
SteveH “– You are entitled to your opinion, everyone has one.”
As do I!
Let Justice decide Guilt, before you get your knickers all in a twist!
I’m a little puzzled as to why Beckett standing is considered to be bad because it will “split the left wing vote”, yet Turner standing isn’t viewed similarly.
I’m guessing because Beckett involves himself in the political struggle rather than sticking to jobs and wages.
goldbach – Because when Beckett went up against Turner, Turner was the one who succeeded in getting the UL nomination.
In a contest where a lot of Beckett supporters were denied the opportunity to vote, while essentially no Turner supporters were. SInce Turner is clearly to the right of Beckett- we both know that’s the only reason Keir would want him to win- why should he be seen as being any part of the left at all? There’s no way to be Left and defer to Starmer’s obsession with being as paralysingly centrist and timid as possible.
Interesting article link on twitter: https://dorseteye.com/leaked-labour-report-part-6-how-the-snides-got-their-positions-in-the-party/
It’s so distressing to be reminded that our party was/is infested with such utter scum. It’s a real shame IRA bombings are a thing of the past. Everywhere you look there are candidates just begging for it!
timfrom – Many will find your support for the IRA bombings to be equally abhorrent and distressing.
lundiel – Thanks for the link
A useful reminder of what sort of scum we are dealing with. Mind you, we need no reminding here, what with little stevie trolling us daily, even hourly like today.
I am amazed that so many can ignore the fact of a millionaire Lawyer from Belfast,one that helped w rip off the miners compensation fund and was fined for it…And the main problem is yet another Lawyer one with form and no shopfoor experience should be touted as the left wing choice…Wake up before it is too late once again….?Turner has form and its socialism and ex militant and a lowley bus driver from the heart of the working-class movement….Go on trust the lawyers again?Do you never learn?
Joseph, have you read who is supporting Turner?