Socialist
comrades have expressed as much shock as pleasure at the news that UNISON gave
our supporting nomination in the Labour leadership contest to Jeremy Corbyn.
(Even though some reported
this without comment...)
I really
should have believed the well placed source who assured me of the likelihood of
this outcome and – with the benefit of hindsight – it can be seen that the
rushed last minute consultation with members who contribute to the Affiliated
Political Fund (APF) was a device to justify the unavoidable decision both
externally and internally (for whilst our General Secretary has always
demonstrated a commendably deft dexterity in arriving at a pragmatic position
some of his supporters will have had to practice unprecedented gymnastics to
arrive at a position where they are comfortable supporting an unashamed
candidate of the left).
How did this
position become unavoidable? The whole of the answer is the growing groundswell
of rank and file support for Corbyn’s campaign. In part this was channelled by activists
within UNISON (and this was not unimportant), but such is the political
earthquake unleashed by Jeremy Corbyn that our General Secretary, and those
around him, concluded a little while ago that his personal support for Corbyn, as
expressed on Channel 4 News, was a prerequisite for his re-election.
The most
credible rank and file candidates likely to oppose Dave Prentis (in the sense
that he is the candidate with by far the best electoral record) is UNISON
National Executive Council (NEC) (and Socialist Party) member Roger
Bannister. Roger has come second to Dave Prentis in three previous General
Secretary elections, on each occasion pushing another “left” candidate into
third place (your humble blogger having been one such bronze
medallist). Roger presumably believes that the anti-Labour position which clarified
his differences with the UNISON machine in the New Labour epoch will provide a
similar electoral advantage in 2015, but (after the Corbyn phenomenon) this
seems very unlikely.
As thousands
of workers flock to join Labour in order to vote for a socialist candidate to
lead the Party, the Socialist Party view that the Labour Party is simply
another “bourgeois party” (like the Tories) looks increasingly absurd – and it
will hardly help Roger as a candidate for UNISON General Secretary that he will
be able to boast of his abstention from the Corbyn campaign.
Something
similar could be said (albeit with less force) for the other potential rank and
file challenger, UNISON NEC (and Socialist Workers Party) member Karen
Reissmann. Karen is less hostile to the Labour Party than Roger, but her organisation
exists in order to try (and fail) to replace the Labour Party – and she is
denial about the damage that will be done to her candidacy by her personal
role in the grotesque mismanagement of rape allegations by her political
organisation, the fall out from which has left “UNISON United Left” boasting a website which, in August
2015 has not been updated since last November.
It is likely
that our General Secretary, and his supporters, were in a position to foresee
the fourth declared candidacy (so far) in the coming election – that of Heather
Wakefield, UNISON national officer. Whilst Heather will doubtless stand “to
the left” of the incumbent General Secretary her appeal on the rank and file
left is seriously mitigated (to put it gently) by her central role in
delivering an unsatisfactory compromise over the Local Government Pension
Scheme in 2012 and in failing to deliver a worthwhile local government pay
campaign in 2014.
Had Heather
been able to differentiate herself from Dave Prentis by her support for Jeremy
Corbyn’s Labour leadership campaign this might have been a significant vote
winner for her. She cannot. She will still win support from those who want to
see a woman General Secretary, and has a base of support in the official UNISON
structures, but will struggle to present herself as a “left” alternative to the
status quo. She may have missed her moment.
Without
doubt, UNISON’s support – and that of our General Secretary – for Jeremy Corbyn
are factors which make the re-election of the incumbent in our own election
more likely (an outcome which will postpone the necessary debate about UNISON's future).
This blog
retains a position of “armed neutrality” on the General Secretary election,
since what our Union needs is plainly both change from the inadequate
approach of the past five years (as personified by both Prentis and Wakefield) and
a candidate who can capture and express the energy and enthusiasm of the Corbyn
campaign (as neither Bannister nor Reissmann can). For now, I respect and
admire (in different ways) all four declared candidates – and will endeavour to
offend all of them without fear or favour.
I shall hope
for a fifth candidate.
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