Unite boss Graham accused of collaborating with Streeting to attack Miliband

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, who is trying to win re-election this summer, faces yet more alleged scandal. She has been accused by union insiders of collaborating with right-wing, friend-of-Israel MP Wes Streeting to write an attack piece on Ed Miliband.

The plan was to “boost” right-winger Streeting’s prospects under incoming PM Andy Burnham.

Hatchet job

Miliband was tipped to become chancellor when Burnham takes over from lame duck Keir Starmer. However, Starmer’s team, which includes the same people who ran Starmer, is now said to have ‘blocked‘ the appointment.

The ‘Reunite the union’ page, run by figures close to the left-wing resistance inside Unite, wrote:

Unite reps are demanding answers from Sharon Graham as accusations surface claiming Graham has “colluded” with Wes Streeting in order to support his jockeying for position in the incoming Burnham government.

Reunite understands from multiple sources, both inside and beyond the union, that Wes Streeting’s team have openly claimed to have worked with Graham to write her recent attack lines deployed in The Times and elsewhere, in which Graham called Ed Miliband “a noose around the neck” of job creation.

The intention of this hit piece was to dissuade incoming Prime Minster Andy Burnham from making Milliband Chancellor. In doing so this bolstered the position of Wes Streeting.

Unite was contacted for comment about the allegations, but did not respond. The undenied allegations are ironic. Graham won election in 2021 on a pledge to disengage Unite from Westminster politics, as ‘Reunite’ elaborates:

Sharon Graham stood in 2021 on a promise of no longer playing Westminster games with Labour factions. An intervention of this sort would put Unite squarely in the middle of a political power play of the Labour Right.

It is well known within Unite that all political contact with Ministers and senior government figures is conducted through the General Secretary’s office. This makes Graham’s political interventions completely unaccountable to members, with scant information reported to the Executive Council after the event. This has led to a wild veering of our union’s political approach, from authorising ‘secret talks’ with Reform in Birmingham to now allegedly being used by the Labour Right for Westminster games.

Unite reps are demanding answers.

Graham must explain to members in our health sector what, if any, contact her and her team have had with Streeting and his people.

A senior Unite NHS rep told the site:

I’m outraged that Sharon appears to be backing Wes Streeting or has allowed our union to be used by his team for their own manoeuvring. Wes Streeting has been no friend of the NHS and should have no place in the leadership of the Labour party.

As health secretary, Streeting was the target of NHS strikes, notably NHS doctors. He put together a ‘slash and burn’ plan of NHS cuts and closures, appointing notorious health privatisers to oversee it. He is also an advocate of the involvement of hated spy-and-kill firm Palantir in the NHS.

According to ‘Reunite’, some of Unite’s biggest branches have already begun passing motions condemning Graham’s collaboration with one of the Labour right’s most notorious figures. The condemnation comes on top of a flood of outrage among members, officers and activists at Graham’s conduct since she took over the union.

Challenger

Graham faces a strong challenge to her re-election bid from Unite’s former international director Simon Dubbins. Dubbins is a consistent supporter of the Palestinians and opponent of Unite’s disastrous disengagement from politics under Graham.

During the nominations phase of the election, Dubbins gained huge wins in big Unite sectors Graham would previously have considered sewn up tightly. These include defence, air travel and construction. Dubbins is also set to win Unite’s ‘Community’ section — which Graham had planned to wind down if she wins a second term.

Dubbins also has standing among Unite’s anti-genocide activists. He refused Graham’s order to cancel a pro-Palestine fringe at Labour’s conference. Graham then suspended him.

During nominations, Graham hid from union branches and declined to debate Dubbins at any hustings event, angering many, including allies, by sending weak proxies instead. Last week, Dubbins publicly challenged Graham to stop hiding and face him in an open debate in front of members. So far she has not responded, let alone taken up the challenge.

Unite’s Anti-union union boss

Outrage among members and union activists toward Graham is widespread. Publicly, she has been almost invisible on the issue of Palestine and Israel’s genocide. She has, though, been highly visible advocating for a bigger UK arms industry — but still lost the defence sector to Dubbins.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, she has been accused by disgusted members of blocking activists from supporting the anti-genocide and climate movements on behalf of Unite. Graham has also held ‘secret’ talks with far-right Reform. Her lack of political engagement and education has seen support for the far-right mushroom in the union.

Despite running a union, Graham has been accused of using appalling, anti-union tactics against workers employed by Unite, leading to repeated strikes. In many cases, these tactics have been seen as Unite’s attempts to protect her husband, Jack Clarke.

Soon after her accession in 2021, Graham created a new Bargaining and Disputes Support Unit (BDSU). Outside of the union’s usual procedures, Clarke was appointed to run it despite being on a final warning for bullying and misogyny. Graham’s faction has staged counter-demonstrations against workers striking against Clarke and attacked their union reps.

Unite’s destruction of evidence against husband Clarke

Explosively, Unite’s lawyers admitted to Skwawkbox that the union had destroyed evidence that workers had gathered against him. This did not stop further complaints and strike action from workers in his new fiefdom, with almost all the women working under him quitting.

These and other issues have seen a flow of Graham’s former allies coming out in support of Dubbins, including some of her previously-closest supporters. The Community section’s long-time chair has also spoken out strongly, asking the section’s members to make sure to vote for Dubbins.

Against this backdrop and with voting now open in the election, the Streeting allegations will be a further blow to Graham’s hopes of clinging onto a position that many have accused her of abusing.

Featured image via the Canary