Labour deputy contest: No Unite decision as leadership offers stunts over strategy
Unite’s leadership narrowly won a vote not to endorse either Lucy Powell or Bridget Phillipson in Labour’s Deputy Leadership election at a special meeting of our union’s Executive Council held online yesterday. Once again difficult decisions are being swerved by a leadership used to using stunts and rhetoric to mask a total absence of any coherent political strategy or indeed political understanding.
For the Labour Party’s faults – and they are many – our union remains the largest affiliate unless that is changed by members through conference. As long as the union is paying money to the party it must use every possible avenue to exert it’s influence for the benefit of members.
Unions have been rightly vocal on attempts to water down the Employment Rights Bill, which could still grant employers the weapon of ‘fire and rehire’ in both the private and public sectors.
The Employment Rights Bill is very obviously a central issue for the deputy leadership election to replace Angela Rayner. We have reps and members engaged in an important and bitter dispute with Labour over austerity attacks on Birmingham bin workers. We have entire sectors in crisis.
The deputy leadership election should be used to place demands on the candidates and leverage Labour. Once again the union’s leadership is either unwilling or unable to do so. Under Sharon Graham our affiliation fee is a blank cheque for Sir Keir Starmer.
At the time of writing Bridget Phillipson is backed by Community, the Musicians' Union, NUM, and USDAW. Lucy Powell has the endorsement of the CWU.
The abdication of a decision by Unite's leadership and their refusal to back the anti-far right demonstration earlier this month are two sides of the same coin. Both show political drift and the total absence of a strategy. Political decisions are made by Sharon Graham’s proclamation for short term expedience or to generate maximum publicity for Sharon Graham personally.
Politically Unite has always been known as a trade union of the traditional left. We have aways known who we are and what we stand for.
We must our political strength to move the government into action, not carp from the sidelines or newspaper columns.
It’s time to reunite and rediscover our political voice.
