CORBYN’S UNION COMRADE RED LEN COULD LOSE HIS JOB
LEN McCLUSKEY faces an inquiry next week that could decide the battle for control of Britain’s biggest trade union.
The Unite general secretary, one of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s most powerful allies, has been accused of a string of rule breaches in his recent re-election to his job.
On Tuesday a former High Court judge appointed to adjudicate on a demand for the election to be rerun opens a hearing in London into the first of 10 claims made by defeated challenger Gerard Coyne.
Insiders say Mr McCluskey could be forced out of his job if the hearing finds against him on any of the claims, which include allegations that he broke union rules by effectively staying in office during the election process.
It is a showdown that comes just as the union boss known as “Red Len” had tightened his grip over Labour. His close friend Jennie Formby was appointed as the party’s general secretary this week.
Many of Labour’s moderate MPs fed up with Mr Corbyn’s hard-Left leadership yearn to see the back of Mr McCluskey, whose Unite is the party’s biggest union bankroller. They see him as a key buttress of Corbynite power, who can provide financial backing for their favoured MPs.
Yet Mr McCluskey also appears to be acquiring enemies on the Left. Some within the Momentum faction that idolises Mr Corbyn are tired of union power brokers dominating the party. They want to transform Labour into a grassroots movement of socialist activists and see the Unite boss and his ilk as a barrier to their plans.
The intensifying infighting between rival hard-Left cliques is an indication of how hopeless the Labour moderates’ position has become. The Left’s triumph is so complete that factions are squabbling over the party they have taken over.
Mr Corbyn’s opponents have been reduced to clinging to the hope that a trade union appeal process will undermine one of the leader’s pals.
But even if Red Len leaves the stage there is little sign of any way for the moderates to get their party back.