Trade union boss Len McCluskey is facing growing discontent from members over his repeated efforts to side with Jeremy Corbyn over the former Labour leader’s failure on antisemitism.
Senior Labour sources told the JC that the latest intervention by the General Secretary of Unite – in which he questioned the decision of Sir Keir Starmer to settle a libel case brought by seven former party workers who blew the whistle on antisemitism in a BBC Panorama documentary – sparked widespread dismay and anger within the union.
Many members questioned why Mr McCluskey, one of Mr Corbyn’s closest allies, had used an interview with The Observer to discuss the antisemitism issue at a time when the pandemic has left millions of workers in fear of losing their jobs.
Mr McCluskey’s critics were also left stunned by his suggestion that Sir Keir had chosen to ignore legal advice that the party would be able to successfully fight the claims of the whistleblowers in court – a statement disputed by party sources.
In an open sign of frustration at the hard-left union leader’s direction, a statement appeared this week on the website of the Unite Alliance group – which represents union representatives standing for election as Executive Council members - expressing “grave concerns about what is going on in our union.”
The statement was written by Unite Executive Council member Steve Hibbert, a Rolls Royce Derby Convenor, and Sean Beatty, chair of Unite’s British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) branch.
Both Unite officials represent members currently involved in crunch discussions over potential job losses and industrial action.
Their statement demanded Mr McCluskey’s “unswerving attention on the battle at hand to defend the jobs and interests of our members” but added “what we are currently witnessing is nothing of the sort”.
According to one Labour source, “more and more Unite members have reached the same conclusion that McCluskey’s mind is focused on entirely the wrong issues”.
Another source said Mr McCluskey had been unable to rid himself of “an obsession to run the Labour Party – rather than represent the millions of workers who pay their subs into his union’s bank account”.
But on Monday, Mr McCluskey again returned to the issue of the substantial damages paid to the antisemitism whistleblowers in an interview with Radio 4’s Today saying “my executive will want questions answered” over the use of the money and dubbed the decision to settle “a clear miscalculation”.
He had earlier told The Observer there was “no doubt” that the Unite executive would seek a review of its funding of the party.
The union leader claimed that much of the six-figure damages that had been awarded to the seven whistleblowers who spoke to the BBC’s Panorama in July 2019 had come from Unite funds, which, he said, was “an abuse” of members’ money.
