More dirty tricks by party to attack left and insult Unison’s young members – and no backing from union management for expelled member of senior committee
The Labour party’s right-wing regime has acted quickly and scandalously to interfere in the democratic workings of the UK’s biggest union in support of the union’s right-wing management – by expelling one of the newly-elected members of Unison’s ‘LabourLink’ committee.
The left had won a majority of one on the committee to go alongside its majority on the union’s national executive – a situation that Unison’s management have been fighting tooth and nail to negate and ignore – putting themselves in line for summary dismissal according to the country’s top lawyer on union and labour matters.
Unison delegates ignored ignored the union’s executive and its official rules and policy to play a pivotal role in saving right-winger David Evans from rejection as Labour’s general secretary and disenfranchise Labour members at September’s annual party conference, by refusing to follow direction from the union’s elected executive to vote against Evans’s confirmation – and staff had blocked the LabourLink’s attempts to instruct delegates otherwise. The new committee was set to pull the Link and the union’s influence in the Labour party back in its proper direction.
But now Labour’s regime has returned the favour to its right-wing union colleagues – by dredging up old social media to expel Lilly Boulby, elected to the LabourLink by the union’s young members, as she reported on Twitter on Tuesday evening.
Lilly Boulby@LillyBNEC·Nov 16, 2021Replying to @LillyBNEC However, this is about more than just me. This move, as well as the decision not to allow for virtual attendees, has meant that the Labour Link met without all of its democratically elected delegates. Lilly Boulby@LillyBNEC This was done in order to ensure the results went the way the incumbent officials wanted it to – and to stop a swing to the left at all costs. That such a disgraceful series of moves had to be resorted to to achieve this shows the real priorities of some people in our movement.4:50 PM · Nov 16, 2021
The democratically-elected left in Unison, together with any members who care about their democratic rights, face an inch-by-inch battle to retake the union for its members and to restore respect for democracy. The Labour party’s current regime is clearly prepared to stoop to any depths to aid its right-wing fellow travellers, even if that means interfering in the democracy of a huge union and slapping Unison members of all ages in the face.
The Unison left must stand firm and do more than stand firm – it must revise its tactics and be no less determined and ruthless than its avowed enemies.
Lilly Boulby@LillyBNEC·Nov 16, 2021Replying to @LillyBNECMy comrades and I stood because we wanted to see UNISON become a fighting union that was genuinely led by its lay members, rather than being run by unaccountable cliques and “gravy train commandos” who see the members as a threat to their perks and privileges.George Hardy@GeorgeHardy505It is up to the members to restore the reputation of UNISON after the Labour leak showed that UNISON officers may have helped to sabotage the 2017 election. The delay in publishing the Forde Report reinforces that suspicion. Transparent is not what Labour is at present.6:41 PM · Nov 16, 2021
The democratically-elected left in Unison, together with any members who care about their democratic rights, face an inch-by-inch battle to retake the union for its members and to restore respect for democracy. The Labour party’s current regime is clearly prepared to stoop to any depths to aid its right-wing fellow travellers, even if that means interfering in the democracy of a huge union and slapping Unison members of all ages in the face.
The Unison left must stand firm and do more than stand firm – it must revise its tactics and be no less determined and ruthless than its avowed enemies.