Saturday 13 April 2013

Early indications of UNITE General Secretary election result

The count is still continuing, but Jerry Hicks has given an interview outside the count where he reports that he hasn't won the election, but has got around a third of the vote.  You can watch the interview:


If the official result is anything like this, it is very good indeed.  It shows that a large section of the active membership is further to the left than Len McCluskey - more keen to see a real fight against the cuts, more critical of Labour, and more keen to see rank and file union members having a bigger say in their union.  It is particularly impressive given that unlike in previous elections, Jerry faced a union apparatus which had only one candidate, rather than being openly divided.

Less encouraging is the turnout.  Union News is reporting that Len got around 150,000 votes and a roughly 2-1 margin, which would mean a total of around 225,000 members voting - around 1 in 6.  Such a low turnout shows how much more we all need to do to involve members and make sure they feel they are the union and are responsible for its future.



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