Smear aimed at 14,000 Community section members is exposed as lie
Opponents of Howard Beckett have stooped to outright falsehood in their desperation to derail his hugely popular campaign to become Unite’s next general secretary – by claiming that he wants to end Unite’s unique ‘Community’ section for unwaged members.
But Beckett intends to build up Community still further – and in July last year, long before the campaign to replace Len McCluskey began, he was telling Socialist Telly’s Damian Willey about how important the section was and that everybody, in paid work or not, needs to be in a union – including unwaged people in Unite Community:
Community is believed to have some 14,000 members and their votes are likely to be highly significant in the contest this summer. That supporters of other candidates are spreading a naked right-wing lie shames them.
Who leads Unite is vital for the wellbeing of its members – and for the future of the Labour movement. Spread the truth so that ‘UC’ members don’t fall for the smear.
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Can we have a link to the smear?
Of course not steveh – for the same reason you wouldn’t ‘t find Ordnance Survey maps of 1930s and ’40s Germany that labeled Labour Camps as high-volume extermination camps.
Smear and slander usually operate covertly and secretly (ask the BBC).
qwertboi – So you couldn’t find any details either. Does a smear exist if nobody has seen or heard it?
“Does a smear exist if nobody….” Good question. Steveh
I suppose it’s still an *intended* smear, just not a very effective one.
(I wish I know how to italicise (or enbolden, strikethrough) words in my wordpress replies Here)
qwertboi – This will help you
https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_formatting.asp
Thanks muchly, Steveh
You see, my beloved SteveH is like most beloveds, a pain in the arse, but in the same he is also the sweetest thing I know! Now we will all be Formatting HTML like Pros! Thanks to SteveH!
skellyKnelly – I’ve posted the same or similar advise before.
I know my sweetheart, you are most helpful in times of tech need xx
skellyknelly – A simple “thanks” would have been more than suffice.
Oh my god!
1 You’re showing your pain in the arse!
2 Typical Typical Man, you have forgotten that we declared our love Publicly right here on this very forum!
Relax SteveH, I am only messing with you, life is too serious and short not to have a laugh once in a while xx
PS. Thanks SteveH, better? xx 😉
muchly muchly 😁
qwertboi – I see you’ve managed to work out how to use HTML. You will find that it works for most sites, not just the wordpress ones.
Then he goes that extra step and goes all, gooey delicious! xx
Check recent replies on Twitter and FB
SB – I can’t find anything relevant, could you provide a link to these smears?
@Skwawkbox can you please quit shutting the comments sections! I was looking about the net to see if I could find some examples of Smear against Beckett, and found THIS Particularly Bitter Nasty and Twisted Piece, from 2020, taking aim at SB & all Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party Supporters in the SO CALLED “”Worker’s Liberty” [EXACTLY why Brand Worshipping is so dangerous, stops you thinking, for yourself!]-Beckett careerism splits United Left
“the increasingly whacky Skawkbox <deliberate?] website as his main media outlet."" There are a few Nasty Smears in there also.
These are the very types of Neoliberal Neolabour Party Tory Filth who slaps "Socialist and Left-wing" on their WikiPages. and call Democratic Socialists 'Centre Left' Far Left Crank Pots/Trotskyists/Stalinists of whatever other Fearmongering filth they want to spread!
From The BBC News:
Unite contest: Who’s running and what’s at stake?
Make use of “slightly more subtle Propaganda/Smear tools” of all the Photos of Beckett is that an Equal photo of all the other photos on that Page!?
BBC makes 3 References of each candidate VS Howard Beckett gets 10, *reminds you of someone else*!? I will just reference the paragraphs/sentences containing Turner and Beckett!
1. The “official” Left candidate is Steve Turner, one of the union’s assistant general secretaries. He won the endorsement of the United Left grouping last year.
2. Steve Turner endorsement by the powerful United Left faction led, however, to a rather disunited Left.
3. However, 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.
1. He won the ballot by just three votes, and the defeated candidate, Howard Beckett, claimed the process had been “riddled with irregularities”.
2. The United Left ‘s committee rejected the allegations, so Mr Beckett told the BBC he would throw his hat in the ring.
3. Howard Beckett would not be Sir Keir Starmer’s choice as successor [The photo caption of a Stern looking Howard probably mid-sentence a bit like Kremlin Jeremy’s Hat!]
4. Mr Beckett, a solicitor by profession, is also an assistant general secretary of the union.
*Here WE GO AGAIN!!! Whoop, Whoop*
He strongly opposed the Labour leader’s decision to settle legal action by – and pay what were described as “substantial damages” to – former party staff who had spoken to the BBC’s Panorama about the handling of anti-Semitism cases under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
5. Starmer supporters fear he may cut funding further, were he to win.
Mr Beckett has put forward the idea of A UNION-FUNDED TV STATION TO CHALLENGE THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA, and that could be at the expense of Labour donations. *OOOOH! look at that frightening Communism! He wants to expose our lies, conniving, smear, etc, etc, etc instead of giving The Money to the New Golden Boi of the Elites/Establishment/Machine’s, who will in turn keep everyone in the dark*
6. Mr Beckett a member of the party’s ruling National Executive (NEC), he led a walk-out (or a “switch-off”, as it was a virtual meeting) of left-wing members last autumn.
They were protesting against the “factional decisions” of “the current Labour leader”.
This followed Mr Corbyn’s suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party and the elevation of Starmer ally Dame Margaret Beckett to chair the NEC.
7. Mr Beckett has also been critical of Sir Keir’s handling of the pandemic.
So, at the very least, there would be ongoing friction between the union and the Labour leadership.
8. But some believe Mr Beckett would use the union as a rival power base.
He has been very praising of Jon Trickett, the shadow cabinet minister sacked by Sir Keir, who has denounced the leadership’s “command and control” structure.
There is little doubt that his leadership would be high-profile, and probably high-octane.
9. Howard BeckettHowever, 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.
10. But he is expected to focus much of his fire in the campaign proper against Howard Beckett, portraying him as “continuity Len”.
So a quick Analysis of Just the BBC Candidates Report and based on Brckett and Turner alone is:
Photos: One each
Turner With Celebrity types, Ear to Ear Smiles, on a happy friendly little protest with a lovely little “Blue-collar”caption, hook!
Beckett Alone, people walking away from him [obviously purposely picked] stern looking as he is probably mid sentence in a MSM interview, we all have those snaps on burst mode photography, supposed to be used for the best pics, but good propaganda for times of sheer desperation like these!
Turner gets 3 Mentions = 30%
Beckett gets 10 Mentions = 70%
Turner gets 3 POSITIVE Mentions 0 NEGATIVE Mentions = 100% POSITIVE Reporting!
Beckett gets 0 POSITIVE Mentions 10 NEGATIVE Mentions = 100% NEGATIVE Reporting!
Nope! Nope! NOTHING to see here Just GOOD Ole British MSM! Propaganda, Smear, Conniving, Spin Machine in Action!
I wonder how many people ACTUALLY believe that a TV Channel keeping an eye on and holding The MSM to account is such a Bad Thing After All, let’s Face it Ofcom is about as useful as a Turd on your favourite Chair!?
ALL those United Left, Momentum, Workers Liberty, etc, etc, etc BULLSHIT are as Neoliberal Occupied as The Neolabour Party, New Statesman, and The Sun in Lambskin aka The Guardian!
Read and Believe at your own Peril!
Question EVERYTHING and EVERYONE including @Skwawkbox!
These are Troubled Times and I am FREAKED out by how many of these SO CALLED Left/Socialist Media Outlets are 100% Full ON Thatcherite Neoliberal TORY! There is very little in the line of Support for Howard Beckett, but The People Experienced 2015 to 2020 and for the most we know the games those twisted fucks play, We SEE THEM! ALL of THEM!
We can certainly expect an onslaught of Bullshitery as the Ops Suites across the globe fire up their Anti Socialist AI Trawling Machines! Throwing lines all the way back to his Birth!
Stay SAFE!
Solidarity!
@SteveH there’s Plenty just look for it!
skellyknelly – smear:- to damage the reputation of (someone) by false accusations
Where is the smear?
Would you call this a Glowing Report of Someone’s Person? Would you call this an Accurate and Fair representation of both the two “leading” candidates? Would you say that 3 positive write-ups and a great photo VS 10 negative write-ups and the worst photo the BBC could find is most certainly not an attempt to damage the reputation of one person while boosting the other?
Mentioning The HOLY GRAIL of FOOLS “Working Class” for Turner BUT Neglects to mention Beckets Troublesome “Working Class” background or the fact that he was the first in his family to go on to Further Education, through their hard work and determination, AND THIS IS A BAD THING!? https://twitter.com/i/status/1283764708324126721 Are People actually suggesting that “Working Class” must remain working class, and poor, all their lives, they are not allowed to go to Uni, they are only allowed to live in Council Property, they are never under any circumstances allowed to become wealthy. It is starting to look to me that the “Working Class” are The WORST of all Class Discriminators! Even against “Their Own Class” Only an Imbecile would think that “Working class” Boy/Girl Made good and then dedicating his/her life to fight for the Working Class with his knowledge and expertise, is a bad thing! Do people want him to become down and out first before he is allowed to take the position of GS of UNITE!? I have never seen so many stupid people in my life!
Now SteveH, if you can not see the “smear:- to damage the reputation of (someone) by false accusations” I am afraid you are not capable of seeing smear:- to damage the reputation of (someone) by false accusations, as I stated those were just 2 articles that was top of the list there was loads more, knock yourself out, watch the Video tonight!
skellyknelly – I agree with much of what you have written about class and the working class kids who made it (Keir Starmer was also the first in his working class family to go to university, another working class kid done well).
I will watch the program tonight because I too am intrested to see how he explains away what seem to be facts rather than smears.
I have said it many times before There are:
The PEOPLE who work for the benefit of The PEOPLE
and
The PEOPLE who work for the benefit if The Self and The Elites/Machine/Establishment
That is it, No Class, No Race, No Status Concerns, No Further Education Concerns etc, etc, etc Just good People FOR People and Bad People For Themselves!
Enjoy, hopefully we will see some “Issues” Resolved!
The right telling lies? I thought that was standard paractice these days.
Not just the right. The supporters of Turner and Graham have regurgitated the same
I suppose we just have to accept that the “Beckett Storys” are now on a daily release system,whilst other left wing outlets support the choice of Steve Turner the nominated candidate of the left.
Pay attention Joseph, the BBC for one – and in fact most of the MSM – are ‘mocking disgust that Trade Unions exist and that people belong to them, but they never mention Beckett (why?), only Turner, who they position as worryingly ‘left wing’ – the way they did Sir Keir (trotskyist) Starmer (who, happily, circa 60% of Labour members and supporters did NOT vote for as leader).
qwertboi – circa 60% of Labour members and supporters did NOT vote for as leader
Keir (like Jeremy) won the leadership election with an overall majority in the first round
Joseph, you have to realise that Skwawky sees everything through the eyes of Brexit of which he is, to say the least, a passionate supporter. Not knowing that much about either Beckett or Turner, it would not surprise me if Beckett tended towards Leave and Turner towards Remain.
Jack I know you are Passionate about Brexit, but you know we have to let it go.
2019 was the pivotal point for us to end 41 years of Thatcher’s Neoliberal Tory Hell, we screwed up for whatever series of reason, much much more than Leave/Remain alone.
We are living in Brexit Britain, Conservative Tory Brexit Britain, it is done, it is over, nobody can do a thing about it. If we keep bubbling up, Leave/Remain, those people who were on either Leave/Remain Bandwagon will also see their emotions resurface and could make a bad judgement/decision based on Leave/Remain which essentially does not even exist any more.
Please don’t see this as ‘a go’ at you it is not! I hope you can see it as Positive Criticism.
Solidarity!
Skellyknelly, tell that to Skwawky, he brings it up time and time again.
Apart from that, it’s an issue which is still bubbling throughout Labour and refusing to talk about it won’t make it go away because it’s a fundamental issue of democracy. The die-hard Brexiters such as Skwawky only accept democracy when it suits them.
Although I have my reservations about Paul Mason, he got much of it right here, particularly about a small core of blinkered left wingers who still think it’s a tenet of the left to support Leave, when the truth is most of the left supported Remain.
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2019/07/without-transformation-brexit-labours-election-chances-are-dead
I know, and that is why I said it, we need to let it go. We can’t change 2019, we can’t change Brexit. As far as New Statesman, it certainly is not anything to quote “The Left” by they are cheerleaders for Thatcher’s Blair Project. They were party to the Hysteria that caused people to make stupid decisions in 2019 leave/remain or whatever else there was to divide The New Statesman is The Sun, in Lambskin, aka The Guardian on Uber-Steroids Neoliberal Neolabour Tories through and through.
The continuation of the use of Leave/Remain, Left/Right will just end up leaving us on the rocks again. I don’t know, but are the MSM and MSSM still make constant reference to those terms?
We need to Unite and The MSM/MSSM are paid shitloads to keep us divided.
PS. and that goes for you too @Skwawkbox!
Noneense! I don’t even know Beckett’s personal preference on Brexit, but he first came to my attention (outside Unite) when he – for democratic reasons – poke against Sir Koff the establishment’s ‘Composite 13’ proposal at the Labour Conference (when we were a participative socialist democratic party and used to have Conferences).
That said, the democratic socialists might have defeated comp13, but Starmer and co still got us to seem like we didn’t respect the brexit referendum decision and thereby cost us GE19.
Runts.
What I will never be able to understand, is how a small section of the left thought it was perfectly acceptable to ignore democracy and in the process harm Corbyn. Though that’s not to say I don’t understand why!
Cummings is exposing exactly the same lack of integrity now with Johnson, who ignores anything with which he disagrees – which we knew anyway.
Jack – You may find this long interview with Steve Turner interesting.
“Unite’s Steve Turner Warns A Split Left Vote Could Hand Union To Centrist Rival
Favourite to replace Len McCluskey on Millwall, Militant and knowing your turf.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/unite-steve-turner-len-mccluskey-interview_uk_6088331fe4b0b9042d8ae549
You don’t have to accept a single thing.
Are those said “other left wing outlets” Supporting Beckett? No, So this one does as that is SB’s Prerogative, you can support who you like, other groups/publications etc can support whoever they like.
I personally agree with SB for me Beckett stands heads and shoulders above all other candidates for the work he’s done For The People, His Fearless challenging of anyone who breaks Rules/Laws against The People, His Legal Knowledge/Experience is a great bonus no matter what anyone says, He is also from a “Working Class” Family in Troubled Belfast, he was the first in his family to go to Uni. Is that not what ALL “Working Class” folk to see, better opportunities for their children than they had!? How proud they must be to see him use that experience and knowledge To Work FOR & WITH THE PEOPLE!?
Perhaps just more cases of Thatcher’s Neolabour Party Tories Occupying The Corporate Brand/Label/Logo, just because THEIR Corporate Brand/Label/Logo reads “Labour” makes them NEITHER The UK Labour Party NOR Democratic Socialists.
They are Thatcher’s Neolabour Party Tories no matter how much Neon or Flashing LEDs they slap on Their Occupied Corporate Brand/Label/Logo whether that is “Labour”, “Labour to Win”, “The United Left” etc, etc, etc, They can NEVER be Left/Labour/Democratic Socialist/etc, they will always remain Neolabour Party Tories who fool/fooled many for years into believing they are in the Left of the Conservative Tories!
You have to ask yourself, why are these people/projects/groups etc suddenly affiliated with Mr “Don’t you dare get cold feet!!!”, himself! Not to mention the Rogue Undemocratic Expulsion of everyone not toeing their lines!
We need UNITE to remain Neolabour Party TORY Free, if we have any hope of having any sort of Representation For The People. Turner has shown affiliation with Starmer on several occasions, sure he also attacked Starmer on rare occasion, We screwed up GE2019 the last opportunity we had to End 41 years of Neoliberal Tory Hell, now UNITE is the last union that is not Fully Occupied by The Neolabour Party Tories, they are so damned desperate to get their greedy mitts on it, now it is to us Give it to them or Keep it From Them And FOR THE PEOPLE. Let’s not be stupid again!
As a Unite Community member I’M BACKING BECKETT. Is the Right Wing potential candidate that worries a number of us.
Which one, Coyne or Turner? 😉
The Thing that I find astonishing is that “Working Class” People must bring their children up to refuse opportunities of good Education, Further Education or any form of Career Advancement!
Everyone Banging on about Steve Turner’s “Working Class” Credentials seems to forget that Howard Beckett was the first in his family to go to University. That was acheved either by his Parents sheer will and dedication/determination to give him the best possible chances in life, that they could not have or he knuckled down as a “Working Class” boy in Troubled Belfast and got himself a scholarship.
Where exactly does this so called Elites Division term “Working Class” begin and End!?
THE PEOPLE for THE PEOPLE!
vs
THE PEOPLE for THEMSELVES and The ELITES/ESTABLISHMENT/MACHINE!
Is that not much easier?
Who cares if someone out Fighting for Equality, Justice and Opportunities For ALL People EQUALLY is Rich/Poor, Higher Educated/GCSE/A Level Educated, Owns Property as a Fair Landlord/Does not own Properties.
DO NOT Alienate The People who are on OUR, THE PEOPLE’S side because they worked their butts off, got lucky, has better gift of the gab to achieve something ‘better’ than us!
THE PEOPLE definition: ANY HUMAN BEING.
The rest is pretty much self Explanatory!
If they are prepared to pick up and raise the Crimson Standard from our fallen hands and march forward, they are my Comrade!
Someone wrote that I am an apologist for people like the yacht owning Mandelson, Campbell, etc, etc on a similar comment of mine, so to them I will just ask how those people above fit into THE PEOPLE ‘for’ THE PEOPLE and in what Universe will those People above pick up and raise the Crimson Standard from our fallen hands!?
As a Unite member, Beckett worries me? He’s not chosen by the left. Turner is, isn’t he?Im getting lots of insults for posting Skwawkbox posts on Social Media now, mainly because they’ve thrown their hat in the ring for Beckett?
He’s not very well liked by socialists.Many, many people who are longstanding friends who I’ve got to know through supporting Corbyn and the left. I’m in 20 Labour groups on FB, av memberships on each 3-5000,Polling companies only use 100,I’m a member of Unite and a member of my local CLP as a Unite delegate and Beckett is not a popular choice with any of the mentioned? As I’ve donated and used Skwawkbox as my go to media I’m completely flummoxed as to why they are supporting Beckett? Skwawkbox is very left wing? Am I missing something?