Unite general secretary campaign’s storming start continues
Howard Beckett’s flying start to the nominations phase of the Unite general secretary election continues. Nominations opened on Thursday and continue until early June, but already at least eight branches have nominated Beckett out of the 174 needed to confirm Beckett’s place on the ballot.
And the nominations will worry Beckett’s rivals. While opponents’ supporters spread smears about Beckett’s intentions for Unite’s unique Community section – presumably recognising that it is a natural Beckett constituency – his decision to take the smears head on and his plan, on the record long before the election began, to build up and empower it seem to have ensured that the lie wouldn’t land.
The first branch to nominate, meeting on the day the process opened, was Unite Community Bath and Bristol – which voted by a margin of three to one to nominate Howard Beckett – and today the Tom Stokes Unite Community branch in Ireland voted unanimously in his favour.
On the other side of the Irish Sea in Wales, the Airbus Broughton branch – the biggest Unite branch in Wales – has nominated Beckett. In Scotland, COTA offshore, GSK Irvine and Petro INEOS branches have already added their names to the list of nominations.
In England, NHS Leicestershire branch and N57 North Nottinghamshire, a geographical branch, have also given him their support today.
At the time of writing, none of the other three would-be candidates had posted news of nominations on their timeline.
Members who want their branch to nominate can find a guide below. If you are a Unite member, details of your branch can be found here.
Skwawkbox is supporting Howard Beckett to be Unite’s next general secretary.
The SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you can afford to without hardship, please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep bringing you information the Establishment would prefer you not to know about.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Wait for it……..Wait for it……..Wait for it……..Wait for it……..Wait for it…….. I can hear the Starmerstruppen Marching armed with Propaganda and Lies, The are about to burst into the Comments Section any time NOW!!!!!
PS. Brilliant News though if ever we needed a Beckett GS for Unite it is NOW! Many of us will join Membership/Unite once again if he does!
skellyknelly – Instead of expressing your desire to jump onto a successful bandwagon it’s a shame that you didn’t have the forethought to join earlier when you would have been able to influence the outcome of this well publicised election.
As predicted here you are, The Starmerstruppen has arrived, where you been?
You’re quite Anal about the membership thing almost like you think we didn’t weigh up the pros and the cons, before making such decisions.
No Bandwagons, chick, we leave those to the Clowns Blair/Mandelson/Campbell, just campaigning for the right man for the job!
The one you;ll hate and who’s life the Starmerstruppen are dissecting for absolutely ANYTHING miniscule and incriminating in some way!
skellyknelly – “You’re quite Anal about the membership thing almost like you think we didn’t weigh up the pros and the cons, before making such decisions.
So what was it that made you decide not to (re)join Unite, why did you decide that you didn’t want a vote on the outcome (but if he wins you’ll join then). What were the pros and cons that you carefully weighed up.
Neoliberal Neolabour Tory Party Takeover of The UK Labour Movement.
1 Not Funding Neoliberal Neolabour Tory Party.
2 Campaigning from the outside seems far more Effective and Irritating to the Neoliberal Neolabour Tory Party.
What happened to the ByElections!?
My branch also nominated Howard Beckett but there was a unanimous decision that the General Secretary election should not mar future relations within the union and that none of us would engage in the unsavoury story-swopping and slurs. I have been increasingly discouraged by the tone of Skwawkbox … the other candidates are not “would be candidates”. They are candidates and what ever one feels about their respective programmes and politics, no-one should question the right to stand for positions and exercise their democratic rights as members .. to be honest there aren’t enough to start with.
All four are would-be candidates until they achieve the nominations threshold and get onto the ballot. Nobody’s questioned their right to stand – but the slurs and unsavoury conduct have been by the other 3 campaigns sadly
I will be voting for the true socialists candidate with years of experience and a very experienced Bus driver Steve Turner.Sorry hes not a millionaire Lawyer from Belfast but like the Communist party and the morning star we know how to pick a true left wing socialist Steve Turner.