Re-elect Sharon Graham as Unite General Secretary
Fight to maintain and extend her fighting manifesto
Kevin Parslow, Unite LE1228 Branch Secretary, personal capacity
Ballot papers for the general secretary election in Unite the Union were posted to members on 14 July. The ballot ends at 12 noon on 11 August, with the result to be declared shortly after.
There are only two candidates: the incumbent, Sharon Graham, and the challenger, Simon Dubbins, Unite’s international director. Sharon received 695 branch nominations; Dubbins got 342. This contrasts with the last election in 2021 when, in a four-candidate nomination period, Sharon won 349 and Steve Turner, predecessor to Dubbins as the candidate of the union’s United Left group, garnered 525.
It may seem that that there is a clear advantage for Sharon, particularly after supporters of her fighting industrial programme won an overwhelming majority on the union’s Executive Council, in the elections to that body in April.
Yet there is no room for complacency. Sharon won last time in a three-horse race, short of an absolute majority. So it is crucial that the campaign continues its momentum to ensure a victory.
Socialist Party members in Unite support Sharon’s re-election because a victory for Dubbins and the United Left would take the union backwards both industrially and politically. A win for Dubbins would be a boost for the right wing in the trade union movement and the bosses.
In the five years since Sharon became general secretary, Unite has been involved in over 1,800 disputes, involving 280,000 members and winning over £700 million in extra pay. The standout dispute has been the Brimingham bin workers, now on strike for 18 months, against a cutting Labour council.
The consequences of this dispute were played out at last year’s Unite policy conference when an emergency motion, initiated by Socialist Party and fellow Unite Broad Left delegates, was overwhelmingly endorsed, apart from by a handful of United Left supporters. It supported the binworkers and agreed to review the union’s affiliation to Labour, and suspend from Unite membership Angela Rayner, then-deputy leader of the Labour Party. Labour was punished at the polls in May in Birmingham and across the UK.
The question of changing the political direction of the union has been posed.
Since then, the EC has endorsed a consultative ballot of members on Labour Party affiliation, which raises the possibility of a formal change at the next Rules Conference, to take place no later than next summer, although we argue this should be brought forward as a priority given the absence of effective trade union political representation currently. Socialist Party members argue that Unite must take the lead in the formation of a new workers’ party.
Dubbins, supported by the now misnamed United Left, would undoubtedly orientate Unite back towards Labour. Little to no criticism is made of the party in his campaign literature. If elected, he and his supporters would try to obstruct industrial action to appease the Labour government. This at a time when Unite is balloting some of its members in local government on this year’s pay offer, for example. And having just broken free of three years of deadlock in the Executive Council, a Dubbins victory would be another unwelcome obstacle in the transformation of Unite.
Reflecting unjustified illusions, like many unions, Unite has nominated Andy Burnham for Labour leader, albeit critically and not without opposition on the Executive Council, including from Socialist Party members, even though his nomination was a shoe-in without Unite’s assistance.
But Unite will need to oppose Burnham’s policies if he continues in fundamentally the same direction as Keir Starmer, and instead set out demands on him. Unite members will remember that during the 2021 General Secretary election, Sharon Graham and the organising department she led were criticised by the United Left candidate Steve Turner for conducting a leverage campaign on Burnham as the Greater Manchester Mayor to intervene into the Go North West bus strike.
Any honeymoon period for Burnham may not last long industrially, with other unions set for ballots later in the year, opening up the debate within Unite on its relationship with Labour.
Socialist Party and other CWI members are not uncritical supporters of Sharon. We fight for Unite to take up a socialist programme to defend the jobs, pay and conditions of its members in industries maintained by capitalism’s greed for profit: armaments, carbon and nuclear energy and others, while retraining them in socially useful production. This is the best way of protecting their jobs, while at the same time opposing war, climate change and environmental pollution.
Nevertheless, we will be campaigning hard to get Sharon Graham re-elected, as workers need fighting unions to represent their interests. The Socialist Party has produced material to give out to Unite members, which can be ordered from our office, and will be leafleting workplaces to ensure a big majority for a fighting union.
Why I’m campaigning for Sharon Graham
“Sharon Graham has developed a comprehensive plan to refocus Unite on industrial militancy, supporting reps to do their jobs winning pay rises and improved terms and conditions for their members, and it’s working. She hasn’t been afraid to take on Labour councils, like Birmingham. Her manifesto contains plans to overhaul union structures to make sure they reflect the reality of working practices and increase member control. The alternative to Sharon Graham as general secretary would be a step backward.”
Suzanne Muna, EC member for South West
“Sharon Graham has given full support for the development of combines, which in some industries have been transformative. The finance combine is developing and the combine for hospitality, where I work, has meant hospitality members from across the UK who feel isolated have now met dozens of times and spearheaded campaigns and strikes in the industry. Equality sectors are gaining momentum too under Sharon’s leadership, with the development of the anti-discrimination unit and the determination to take on discrimination cases, as well as the union’s commitment to stand by its LGBT+ members who are facing an increasing hostile media and political environment.”
John Williams, EC member LGBT+ seat
“For health workers like Bart’s Unite members, and who have been involved in successful strike action campaigns including against privatisation and for in-house return to direct NHS employment, it is very important to continue to have a General Secretary who will instinctively put the resources of the union at their disposal when they need them at the point of moving into struggle.
“The re-election of Sharon Graham, with a proven fighting record, will put health workers in a much better position in these times. Unite can play an indispensable role in initiating the broadest coalition of unions in a determined industrial and political struggle against austerity. This can be given great impetus in the anticipated decision to free up of our political funds, ending Unite’s Labour affiliation at the union’s rules conference next year. If Sharon loses this election, that will be much harder.”
Len Hockey, EC member for London and Eastern
“My branch nominated Sharon Graham because under her leadership, Unite is more militant and a better organised union. Members have won significant concessions because they are supported to take on the bosses and win. The result is workplace branches are more engaged with the union, with more shop stewards and delegates elected to committees. This is making Unite a more democratic, lay-led union.”
Dave Walsh, Chair of Merseyside Civil Engineering Branch, Unite convenor Liverpool City Council
“I support Sharon Graham because she has put Unite back where it belongs – in the workplace. She has strengthened support for reps, including legal backing when they are victimised, backed industrial action that delivers real gains, and focused the union on defending jobs, pay, conditions and workplace organisation.”
Moe Manir, London bus driver
Unite Executive’s nomination for Labour leader
John Williams, EC member (personal capacity)
A special Unite Executive Council took place on 9 July, to decide whether we would nominate Andy Burnham for Labour leader. Of course, this was a formality, as he had already got the 81 Labour MPs needed to nominate him as well as other unions. Even by the time of the Unite Executive, it was clear that Burnham would not be opposed and would be crowned as Labour leader and prime minister.
It was very clear that Burnham was looking to be seen as a friend of the trade union movement and wanted the backing of Unite in particular – with a general secretary who has clearly moved the union to a more strike-ready, militant union.
General secretary Sharon Graham said that Burnham had been ‘listening’ to the concerns of the working class, especially as he’s been outside of the Westminster bubble for a long time, and she claimed that he backs radical policies like a wealth tax. Though on the energy companies, he’s talked about vague ‘public control’ and has deliberately not used the term nationalisation.
Socialist Party members on the Executive made it very clear of our opposition to nominating Burnham. He has shown himself to be a political chameleon – being in the cabinets of Blair, Brown as well as Corbyn – no one is sure what his manifesto will be. An idea partly accepted by Sharon, when she said that she certainly wouldn’t look to nominate ‘the Andy Burnham of old’.
Several delegates spoke about his history – as did I. He voted for the Iraq war, against investigations into the Iraq war, voted to introduce and increase tuition fees, voted to bring PFI into the NHS, and allowed the hated Tory welfare bill to pass. I made the point that I believe people can change – but what is he doing now?
He publicly says he supports the Labour government’s fiscal rules and their anti-immigration policies. His chief-of-staff is the ex-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, who’s made awful comments about people on benefits. And it looks like he’s U-turned on his previous support for trans rights. As the LGBT+ member on the Unite Executive I couldn’t in good conscience vote to nominate him.
However, the overwhelming feeling of the Executive (even by those who criticised him) was to give him a chance, on the claim that he was Labour’s last-chance saloon. But this was a mistake.
With the nominating period opening at 6pm on the day that the Executive met, Unite could have opened up a debate within the union about which of the 100-plus sponsored Labour MPs would have best represented Unite members and policies – for example those who were suspended by Starmer for opposing his austerity programme. This would have been real leverage to act on Burnham, rather than to nominate him without any agreement by him to implement Unite’s policies.
We also reminded the Executive of what we saw when Corbyn was Labour leader: just having an individual in the top position wasn’t enough when the Blairite party machine had such a tight control that they could undermine them. However, Burnham is the candidate of this machine and seems to want to accommodate rather than deal with this.
The argument was made that this was a conditional nomination, and that if he went back on his word to transform the economy to one that benefits workers, then support would be pulled. It seemed to be the case of voting for him first and then finding out what he intends to do, which is surely the wrong way round!
With Andy Burnham’s coronation round the corner, there will be hungry working-class people and trade unionists desperate for him to deliver. Socialist Party members on the Unite Executive will fight to make sure that Burnham won’t get away with pulling the wool over our movement’s eyes, and continue the fight for political representation of the working class with trade unions at its heart and on a socialist programme.
