Len McCluskey, the militant trade
union leader who is calling for a general strike, won re-election
yesterday despite winning the backing of just 10 per cent of his
members.
Red Len, as he has been dubbed, reinforced his iron grip on Unite – the country’s biggest union – by winning 64 per cent of the votes cast.
But in a dismal example of union democracy, just 15 per cent of the membership bothered to fill in a ballot.
The election means Mr McCluskey can carry on rabble rousing for another five years until 2018.
Just last week he was arguing for an ‘explicitly political strike’ across the trade union movement, which would be the first general strike since 1926.
Mr McCluskey’s re-election is a headache for Ed Miliband, who has been unable to shake off the stigma of being picked by the unions contrary to the wishes of both Labour members and MPs.
Unite have donated £8,425,166 to the Labour Party since Mr Miliband became leader in September 2010.
Unite remains Labour’s single biggest donor, giving 32 per cent of donations in the last quarter.
The vote comes as Frances O’Grady, the new head of the TUC, resurrected fears of 1970s and 1980s style militancy by refusing to back key union reforms that were introduced by the Thatcher government.
Asked whether she supports secret ballots on strike action and the ban on closed shop, she flatly refused to do either.
She added: ‘I’m not interested in re-running battles of the 70s but sorting out the mess that we’ve had as a result of unions being marginalised in society.’
Mrs O’Grady then made the extraordinary claim that ‘nobody took anybody out on strike without there being strong support, so I think it’s insulting to ordinary men and women to suggest otherwise’.
In fact, Arthur Scargill’s failure to hold a secret strike ballot is widely regarded as fatally undermining whatever public support there was for the miners’ strike in 1984-85.
But her intervention suggests even the usually cautious TUC is heading down a path of militancy.
Yesterday Mr McCluskey said he was ‘deeply honoured that members have once again put their faith in me to lead their union’ and promptly vowed to bring down the Government.
Tory chairman Grant Shapps cast doubt on Mr McCluskey’s credibility having won such a small number of votes.
He said: ‘Union baron Len McCluskey’s been re-installed with the support of only a fraction of his membership, while Frances O’Grady wants to take us back to the bad old days of strikes without ballot.
‘We’re transforming the economy and removing 2.2million of the lowest paid workers from tax altogether – still, these union bosses remain completely unreformed.’
He said Mr McCluskey’s re-election ‘ensures Ed Miliband will remain clueless about dealing with the deficit’.
Red Len, as he has been dubbed, reinforced his iron grip on Unite – the country’s biggest union – by winning 64 per cent of the votes cast.
But in a dismal example of union democracy, just 15 per cent of the membership bothered to fill in a ballot.
The election means Mr McCluskey can carry on rabble rousing for another five years until 2018.
Just last week he was arguing for an ‘explicitly political strike’ across the trade union movement, which would be the first general strike since 1926.
Mr McCluskey’s re-election is a headache for Ed Miliband, who has been unable to shake off the stigma of being picked by the unions contrary to the wishes of both Labour members and MPs.
Unite have donated £8,425,166 to the Labour Party since Mr Miliband became leader in September 2010.
Unite remains Labour’s single biggest donor, giving 32 per cent of donations in the last quarter.
The vote comes as Frances O’Grady, the new head of the TUC, resurrected fears of 1970s and 1980s style militancy by refusing to back key union reforms that were introduced by the Thatcher government.
Asked whether she supports secret ballots on strike action and the ban on closed shop, she flatly refused to do either.
She added: ‘I’m not interested in re-running battles of the 70s but sorting out the mess that we’ve had as a result of unions being marginalised in society.’
Mrs O’Grady then made the extraordinary claim that ‘nobody took anybody out on strike without there being strong support, so I think it’s insulting to ordinary men and women to suggest otherwise’.
In fact, Arthur Scargill’s failure to hold a secret strike ballot is widely regarded as fatally undermining whatever public support there was for the miners’ strike in 1984-85.
Unite have donated £8,425,166 to the Labour
Party since Mr Miliband (left) became leader in September 2010. The vote
comes as Frances O’Grady (right), the new head of the TUC, resurrected
fears of militancy
Yesterday Mr McCluskey said he was ‘deeply honoured that members have once again put their faith in me to lead their union’ and promptly vowed to bring down the Government.
Tory chairman Grant Shapps cast doubt on Mr McCluskey’s credibility having won such a small number of votes.
He said: ‘Union baron Len McCluskey’s been re-installed with the support of only a fraction of his membership, while Frances O’Grady wants to take us back to the bad old days of strikes without ballot.
‘We’re transforming the economy and removing 2.2million of the lowest paid workers from tax altogether – still, these union bosses remain completely unreformed.’
He said Mr McCluskey’s re-election ‘ensures Ed Miliband will remain clueless about dealing with the deficit’.