Unite general secretary ‘sees off’ member attempt to disaffiliate and signals way open for more funding, Labour right is still rigging Unite candidates out of parliamentary selections
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, long criticised for making an accommodation with right-wing, anti-worker ‘Labour’ leader Keir Starmer, made further room for him this week at the union’s policy conference in Brighton, despite the outrage of members.
Starmer was given a platform to spout non-committal nonsense and meaningless pledges while the union management fought off an attempt by members to disaffiliate from the party – and this morning Graham made more talk of her ‘disappointment’ with Labour about its ‘lack of ambition’ while opening the way to further huge donations – despite campaigning to become Unite general secretary on a promise of severing the union’s involvement in ‘Westminster politics’.
But while Graham compromises to give Starmer free reign to lecture union members and refuse to make any meaningful changes – even putting ‘businesses’ before ‘workers’ in his priorities at his speech to the Unite conference – the Labour right is continuing to block Unite-backed candidates in parliamentary selections with complete impunity and not even any significant comment from the union’s management.
On top of a string of anti-democratic and often racist manoeuvres by the hard-right party machine, just in the past week at least two further candidates backed by Unite – and other unions – have been barred from selection processes, preventing members from having even the option of voting in pro-union candidates instead of Starmeroid drones:
A senior Unite insider told Skwawkbox:
There are serious questions to be asked about what the union is doing to defend their members and candidates when they’re stitched up by party officials.
The answer to that question appears to be clear: nothing.
In addition to her increasing cosiness with Starmer, Sharon Graham’s tenure has been marked by a string of allegations – which neither she nor the union has denied – of abuse, cover-up and failure to protect women:
- that she attempted to have evidence destroyed in bullying and misogyny complaints about her husband, whom she now employs in her office despite a final warning from the union for his behaviour
- the union’s appalling treatment of Irish union legend Brendan Ogle has led to Ogle taking legal action over Unite’s ‘disgusting’ abuse and bullying following his return from cancer treatment. Ogle did not support Sharon Graham in the union’s general secretary election and the union’s conduct toward him led to protests during Graham’s recent Dublin visit, outrage among Irish politicians and even threats from a whole sector to disaffiliate entirely
- after her supporters failed in their bid to take control of the Unite executive despite ‘dark money’ spending on advertising, ineglible and racist members being allowed to stand and the alleged use of paid organisers in and following the exec election campaign, her faction has resorted to Starmerite tactics to try to discredit the executive members’ election of a new left-wing union chair and both vice-chairs, as well as the vital Finance and General Purpose Committee