Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
Looking forward to them. There must be other Unite stewards/members on here. It’d be good to get a serious discussion going about the election and what comes next.
Unite General Secretary Election
- Thread starter magneze
- Start date
Looking forward to them. There must be other Unite stewards/members on here. It’d be good to get a serious discussion going about the election and what comes next.
andysays
Love and solidarity
I don't think she is "pretending that 'politics' doesn't exist", even almost, rather she is setting out her priorities, which involve a re-focus towards workplace organisation. I think in principle that's a good thing, although the devil, as always, is in the detail.
If you look at her campaign website, there are six areas she intends to campaign around. The first, and presumably most important for her, is the Industrial, but there are, or will be, five others including Workers' Politics. All these five need development, but it's not true to say they don't exist.
And if anything my previous post was more about a rejection of the approach of many far left groups on issues like Palestine which are not of immediate concern to most workers, and which are likely to be an active impediment to building workplace organisation.
I don't claim to know a great deal about the assorted left groups that hitmouse posted comments from (thanks again for those, they are certainly interesting and helpful), but in many ways the various articles say more about the group publishing them than the candidates themselves.
Criticising someone seeking to become Unite General Secretary for not putting forward a clear position on Palestine is a classic example of that, and a demonstration of why RS21 will remain an irrelevance to most workers.
andysays
Love and solidarity
I have to say, the more I read of Sharon Graham's pitch, the better I like it. This is from her Why I'm Standing statement
If elected, I will take steps to make our Union more democratic, where the members, Shop Stewards and Reps have more say over the decisions made in their name. That’s why I will launch a Democracy Commission to make recommendations for positive change. Our retired and community sections will be positively encouraged to play their full part in the renewal of our Union. We will get back to campaigning effectively for retired members – showing we can win. Our community project will be reformed and focus on building collective power within target locations. Politically, there will be no more blank cheques for the Labour Party. Under my leadership we will only support future candidates who have been Union Shop Stewards or Reps and our relationship with the leadership will be governed by policy. I am not interested in the internal game-playing within a political party; my priority will be to build a movement within our workplaces and wider community. We need to do more than Westminster elections – we need to create and sustain support for an agenda based on the interests of working people.
Again, it needs filling out with more detail, but the basic position it's coming from, rebuilding a workers' movement within workplaces and communities, seems absolutely the right way to go.
If elected, I will take steps to make our Union more democratic, where the members, Shop Stewards and Reps have more say over the decisions made in their name. That’s why I will launch a Democracy Commission to make recommendations for positive change. Our retired and community sections will be positively encouraged to play their full part in the renewal of our Union. We will get back to campaigning effectively for retired members – showing we can win. Our community project will be reformed and focus on building collective power within target locations. Politically, there will be no more blank cheques for the Labour Party. Under my leadership we will only support future candidates who have been Union Shop Stewards or Reps and our relationship with the leadership will be governed by policy. I am not interested in the internal game-playing within a political party; my priority will be to build a movement within our workplaces and wider community. We need to do more than Westminster elections – we need to create and sustain support for an agenda based on the interests of working people.
Again, it needs filling out with more detail, but the basic position it's coming from, rebuilding a workers' movement within workplaces and communities, seems absolutely the right way to go.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
It’s a simple point that international issues are still important for unions. No more no less.
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
Beckett presumably think this is radical stuff that’ll earn him some kudos on the back of the mobilisation in Glasgow today. Piss poor...
hitmouse
music obfuscation technology
Whatever it was that Beckett posted, it seems to have been very hastily deleted, what was it?
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
He’s suspended from Labour now. Could have fucked his whole campaign.
Howard Beckett: Patel laws 'disgusting' says union boss after Labour suspension
Unite leadership contender Howard Beckett apologises for tweet about home secretary but stands by criticism.
www.bbc.co.uk
steveseagull
Well-Known Member
The Labour Party make it all about factionalism instead of anti racism. They cannot even suspend someone for racism without fucking it up
splonkydoo
Well-Known Member
stupid tweet for an official to say but there is also a clear over-reaction
Mation
real life adventure worth more than pieces of gold
I'd say wrong reaction, rather than over-reaction. It sounds like he stupidly forgot context rather than stupidly remembered it.
(That's me just basing this on the comment. No idea who he is or what he usually stands for/does
)
andysays
Love and solidarity
IMO, it's more than stupid, it's inexcusable.
Anyone who is in his position in a major TU and within a major political party shouldn't be tweeting stupid shit like this that they have to delete later.
If the decision to suspend him from the Labour party was motivated by a wish to remove any McCluskeyite influence, Beckett's given
Starmer the perfect excuse.
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
It's a re-run of Rebecca Long-Baileys' completely unnecessary unforced error. If you hand your enemy a knife, don't be surprised if they stab you with it.
Starmer shot himself in the foot over candidate selection in Hartlepool, and then with his cack-handed handling of Angela Rayner's sacking/promotion.
Pissing on your own socks seems to be a significant feature of politicians...
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
Leaving aside the factionalism for a moment, why the fuck is someone - who wants to lead the most important union in Britain - calling for a black woman to be deported.
I mean I’ve been pretty sickened by Patel and her politics but I’ve never thought she should be deported. Given the union’s chequered history on race - dockers for Enoch, the racist campaign against Bill Morris etc - if this was an attempt by Beckett to score some leftie posturing points then it raises some serious judgement questions. If his genuine reaction to black people he doesn’t like is to think they should be booted out then, well....
I mean I’ve been pretty sickened by Patel and her politics but I’ve never thought she should be deported. Given the union’s chequered history on race - dockers for Enoch, the racist campaign against Bill Morris etc - if this was an attempt by Beckett to score some leftie posturing points then it raises some serious judgement questions. If his genuine reaction to black people he doesn’t like is to think they should be booted out then, well....
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
Whatever happened to the notion of exile? If he'd only said exile pp the complaints would have been muted. And tbh being as there are already in law provisions for internal exile only minor modifications would be needed to relocate the foul Patel to the thatcher peninsula
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
Don't know why starmer need shoot himself in the foot when many many people would do it for him
muscovyduck
Good IT skills and food hygiene competent
It's the kind of thing if it slipped out when he was chatting to his mates, you'd want someone take him aside and explain the problem and move on (unless thered been a pattern of behaviour which doesn't appear to be the case here but we can't know that either way really). But he's published it publicly under his own name, obviously without thinking looking at how soon he took it down. You don't want someone with that sort of impulse control and poor judgement representing you. It's not like he's some random person in a random job.
hitmouse
music obfuscation technology
Fwiw, I think it's considerably worse than what RLB did - she shared an interview that was like 90%-95% fine and then had like one dodgy sentence in, Beckett just wrote a dodgy sentence.
Anyway, as I said above Graham does seem to me like the best candidate in terms of her platform and everything, but she's also now definitely seeming like the candidate who has the least negative reasons to vote against.
Kevbad the Bad
Amiable Bowel Syndrome
It strikes me that the main problem here is Twitter. Too easy to tweet something when you're in a bad mood, pissed, tired, not paying attention, etc etc. Too easy to retweet stuff someone else has written without reading it properly. Too easy to respond too quickly, emotionally without due consideration. Too easy to forget that potentially anybody in the world will be able to read, misinterpret, misquote and remember for years what you have written. Best avoided if you are in the limelight.
As an aside, I have heard calls for Priti Patel to be deported, and far worse, within my own four walls. And all the other Tory front bench. Oh, and back bench. I probably wouldn't quote all that on Twitter, cos I don't do Twitter. But if I had would that make me racist? If so, more or less racist than a hypothetical Home Secretary who implements policies which are undeniably racist in the real, physical world rather than the Twittersphere?
As an aside, I have heard calls for Priti Patel to be deported, and far worse, within my own four walls. And all the other Tory front bench. Oh, and back bench. I probably wouldn't quote all that on Twitter, cos I don't do Twitter. But if I had would that make me racist? If so, more or less racist than a hypothetical Home Secretary who implements policies which are undeniably racist in the real, physical world rather than the Twittersphere?
brogdale
Coming to terms with late onset Anarchism
It's no excuse really, is it.
Sometimes uncomfortable truths emerge when things are blurted out.
Kevbad the Bad
Amiable Bowel Syndrome
And sometimes they don't. When a discussion revolves around the issue of deportation it's very easy in the tit-for-tat world of politics to have a conversation that goes "such and such a group should be deported!". "No, you should be deported!". Irrespective of the racial origins of either speaker. It's not an intelligent conversation, which is why I'm not a fan of Twitter. But it doesn't have to be all that complicated either.
muscovyduck
Good IT skills and food hygiene competent
I remember when Katie Hopkins was having major issues with her epilepsy there were a lot of people (who I thought knew better) making some really awful comments and jokes about it online. Most people just don't really understand the consequences of what they're writing and are mortified when you explain something like "Hopkins isn't going to see your Facebook post but your disabled friends will". But I would be miffed if it formed a wider pattern of similar behaviour over time, or, as in this case, if it came from someone who has a position of responsibility that requires them to be more deliberate and restrained with the sort of stuff they're saying and publishing.
If he wants to use twitter in this sort of flippant, let off steam way, he should use a seperate account under a pseudonym.
I think there's extra bad optics here because after the kill the bill protests people on Twitter were trying to acuse specific activists on the ground of being undercover police, and I definitely feel like at the moment there is generally little patience for twitter personalities posting stuff about direct action without thinking it through.
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Jeff Robinson
Marxist-Lentilist: Jackboots and Jackfruit
The tweet was pro-refugee and called for a viciously racist government minister - along will everyone who supports institutional racism - to be deported. I'm amazed that people here think it reveals any racism. Poorly judged, yes. Racism, I highly doubt it.
andysays
Love and solidarity
No one here has actually suggested it "reveals any racism".
Are you a member of Unite? I hope the other members for choosing our new GS have better critical faculties than you...
Jeff Robinson
Marxist-Lentilist: Jackboots and Jackfruit
I mean, you're wrong, but that's never stopped you from being a condescending arse in the past, so carry on...
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
100%. As I said in the other thread, this is the problem with Labour - rooting out non-racists in their own party (usually those on the left) when they should be going for the Tory jugular instead. This is why they will continue to lose votes to the SNP, Greens, etc.
hitmouse
music obfuscation technology
If it just said something like "keep the refugees, chuck the tory government in the sea" or something like that, no-one would have any problem with it. But specifically naming a child of immigrants as someone who should be deported comes across as dodgy.
Jeff Robinson
Marxist-Lentilist: Jackboots and Jackfruit
In isolation yes, but given the full wording of the tweet, I don't think so. I agree it was an error, but not worthy of cancelling someone over.
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
More concerned about Sir Keir's lack of comment. Only other labour person I've seen comment is Laura Pidcock.
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