Unison national executive members challenge validity of nomination for Keir Starmer for leader of the Labour Party

Unison national executive members challenge the validity of the union nomination for Keir Starmer for leader of the Labour Party

A Socialist Party press release 09/01/20

On 8th January the Unison press office announced that “UNISON – the UK’s largest union – has today decided to back Keir Starmer to become the next leader of the Labour Party.

The decision was taken by the union’s Labour Link committee, which is made up of working people from across the country and from all walks of life. All are members of the Labour Party.”

The decision has caused widespread anger in the union as it turns out that just 20 members were involved in the decision and tens of thousands of Unison members who pay into the Labour Party political fund were denied any say on the matter let alone the rest of the one million union members who would be affected.

A number of Unison’s National Executive Committee (NEC) members are now demanding to know why the usual policy of consulting members before making a nomination was ignored and are calling for an emergency meeting of the National Executive, the democratically elected highest governing body of the union, to be convened to re-consider the decision.

Hugo Pierre, national black members’ representative on the National Executive, speaking in a personal capacity, said:

“This is a disgraceful undemocratic attempt to bounce the union into supporting an anti-Corbyn candidate.

“Why is it that in both the last two leadership elections all of the union’s Labour Party levy payers were consulted but not this time? I believe that this is because they feared the members would not back Keir Starmer and would want a candidate who would stand by and defend Corbyn’s anti-austerity programme, and take the necessary next steps to transform Labour into a democratic socialist party that can really represent workers ‘from all walks of life’.

“We are demanding the NEC is immediately recalled to review this decision to nominate Keir Starmer”.

ENDS

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