Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

The UNISON General Secretary election 2015

‎I have today been assured that budget provision is available to resource an election in 2015 for the election of a General Secretary for UNISON, should such an election be necessary.

It will be.

I don't intend, in this post, to comment on the lamentable succession planning of the full-time leadership of our trade union, and the consequent absence of either an inspiring candidate or of a meaningful choice from amongst the current leadership.

I want to share here, in public (as it were - you shouldn't assume anyone other than you is reading this) some comments which I made at tonight's meeting of the UNISON National Executive Council (NEC) Left Caucus.

First, those of us who have ever come third in a General Secretary election should not again be a candidate (This is a shame as it deprives UNISON of my enlightened and principled leadership - but it is a pragmatic necessity).

Secondly, anyone who ever chaired a session of a Conference of a political party at which the victim of an alleged rape was refused a voice must understand that they would be a toxic candidate in such an election. Their comrades must cease to promote such a candidate forthwith if they have the slightest concern for rank and file organisation in our trade union.

Thirdly, I regret that comrades in the Socialist Party care more for being seen to be "leaders" of the left than for transforming our trade union. However, the undimmed enthusiasm of these comrades for a candidate who has come a (more or less) respectable second in each election for the General Secretary of UNISON is a factor to be taken into account.

No decisions have yet been taken about the coming (and unavoidable) election for General Secretary, neither (as far as your blogger knows) at the UNISON Centre nor on the left.

I await with interest the outcome of these decisions.



Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the EE network.

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