Comment Midlands could be key to uniting Labour moderates
there are people inside the Labour Party who desperately want him gone.
Opponents of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn within Labour hold Mr McCluskey partly responsible for what they see as the party’s woes.
They’ve been counting the days until he goes, and they were privately pushing Mr Coyne as a potential successor long before Mr McCluskey’s recent announcement.
In 2015, Unite backed Mr Corbyn for the party leadership (although Mr McCluskey initially toyed with supporting Andy Burnham).
And Mr McCluskey was a staunch supporter as Labour MPs manoeuvred to try to convince Mr Corbyn to resign. When Labour MPs voted for a motion of no confidence in Mr Corbyn in June, Black Country MP Tom Watson, Labour’s Deputy Leader, attempted to end the crisis in the party by encouraging Mr Corbyn to stand down voluntarily and with dignity.
He asked Mr McCluskey to act as an honest broker in the talks. But the discussions collapsed, with Mr Watson saying there was no point continuing because the Labour leader was determined to stay in post.
It emerged that Mr McCluskey had been encouraging Mr Corbyn to stay on. He issued a statement saying: “I made it absolutely clear from the outset of these discussions that Jeremy Corbyn’s resignation as the leader was not on the agenda.”
Labour MPs believe that Mr Corbyn had been ready to quit, until his resolve was bolstered by Mr McCluskey and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. This led to a fresh leadership contest, in which Mr Corbyn faced a challenge from Labour MP Owen Smith and won a convincing victory, once again with the support of Unite.
The union even launched a membership drive in the run-up to the contest, encouraging people to sign up to back Mr Corbyn.
Of course, Mr Corbyn’s supporters would no doubt applaud Mr McCluskey’s approach, particularly his support for the Labour leader in the face of attempts by MPs to force him out. But those MPs who believe Labour is headed for disaster think the Unite leader is letting down his members, who (Labour MPs say) need a Labour government to stand up for working people.
They believe Mr McCluskey is more interested in seeing a “true socialist” party in place than in winning elections and forming a Government.
And they believe Mr Coyne is the candidate to replace him. The West Midlands Regional Secretary has not yet declared his intention to stand, but an announcement is expected soon.
The West Midlands is something of a hotbed of opposition to Mr Corbyn.
Labour First, a group of “moderates”, recently held its annual general meeting in Oldbury in the Black Country. Labour First openly states it is campaigning against Momentum, a group which backs Mr Corbyn.
Supporters include John Spellar (Lab, Warley), Ian Austin (Lab, Dudley North) and Khalid Mahmood (Lab, Perry Barr). Mr Watson (Lab, West Bromwich East) spoke at the event, in a loyal speech criticising the Lib Dems.
Now, the West Midlands is also at the heart of a battle in the nation’s biggest union which could determine whether “moderates” ever win back control of the Labour Party.
The West Midlands is something of a hotbed of opposition to Mr Corbyn