Len McCluskey

Leonard David "Len" McCluskey (born 23 July 1950) is an English trade unionist who has been the General Secretary of Unite since 2011.^[2] He previously spent some years working on the Liverpool Docks prior to becoming a full-time union official.

Early life

McCluskey was born in Liverpool and went to the Cardinal Godfrey School in Anfield.^[3][4] After leaving school as a teenager, he went to work for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company and remained there for the next 11 years.^[3]

Trade unionist

McCluskey first became a trade unionist in 1968, whilst working on the docks.^[5][6] He became a shop steward aged 19, and was a campaign organiser for the TGWU in Merseyside throughout the 1980s after becoming an officer of the union in 1979.^[5][7] He supported Militant during the 1980s, but was not a member.^[3] He has also been a member of the Labour Party since 1970.^[3][5]

He was elected as the National Secretary for the TGWU General Workers Group in 1990, and moved to London to work in the union headquarters.^[3][5] He later became the TGWU's national organiser for the service industries in 2004.^[5] In 2007, he was appointed as the Assistant General Secretary for Industrial Strategy for the newly merged Unite the Union.^[5] He defines himself as being on the left of the union, and has been given the label "Red Len" in the press because of his involvement in Unite's dispute with British Airways.^[7]

In 2010, McCluskey stood for election as General Secretary of Unite to replace joint-General Secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley who had announced their retirement. On 21 November 2010, it was announced that McCluskey had won the election.^[5] Derek Simpson subsequently retired in December 2010, and Tony Woodley followed shortly afterwards, leaving McCluskey to take office as the General Secretary on 1 January 2011.^[7] In 2013, McCluskey announced that he would be running for re-election as General Secretary.^[8] He was re-elected in 2013 with the following results posted. The full election results are as follows:

Len McCluskey: 144,570 votes.

Jerry Hicks: 79,819 votes.

Number of ballot papers found to be invalid: 1,412.

Total number of valid votes cast: 224,389.

Turnout: 15.2 per cent.

In 2013, McCluskey co-signed a letter which was published in the Guardian newspaper which officially marked his support for the People's Assembly movement.^[9] He also gave a speech at the closing plenary of the People's Assembly Conference, held at Westminster Central Hall on 22 June 2013.

Falkirk Labour investigation

In July 2013, McCluskey accused Labour of "picking the wrong fight" over the selection of a prospective candidate in the Falkirk constituency. He described Labour party headquarters' handling of the matter as "nothing short of disgraceful".^[10]

In November 2013, McCluskey denied fresh claims that his unite tried to prevent a Labour investigation into alleged vote rigging in Falkirk.^[11]

Threat to split from Labour

In March 2015, McCluskey threatened to disaffiliate Unite from Labour and launch a new workers' party if Labour loses the 2015 general election.^[12]

Personal life

McCluskey was married to Ann for 25 years, and the couple have an adult son.^[1][13] After moving to London as part of the T&GWU national operation,^[3][5] in 1991 whilst still married, his then partner Jennie Formby (née Sandle), gave birth to a child at Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton.^[1] In 1994, McCluskey made headlines after it was revealed that he had received a subsidized loan of £90,000 to buy a house with Formby in NW10, London.^[13] McCluskey presently lives with his partner Paula Lace. In 2013, Jennie Formby was appointed Unite's political director on £75,000, replacing Steve (Stephen) Hart, who was the son of Judith Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark.^[1]

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Simon Walters and Glen Owen (21 July 2013). "Mother of union boss love child fixes MPs for Labour". Daily Mail. Retrieved 21 July 2013. 
2. ↑ http://www.unitetheunion.org/news__events/latest_news/new_role_for_tony_woodley_uni.aspx?lang=en-gb
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Hernon, Ian (18 December 2009). "Ian Hernon speaks to union leader and ex-Liverpool docker Len McCluskey". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 21 November 2010. 
4. ↑ "Len McCluskey voted new leader of trade union Unite". Liverpool Echo. 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2013-07-11. 
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 "Len McCluskey chosen as new Unite leader". BBC News. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010. 
6. ↑ Waddington, Marc (25 October 2010). "City trade union stalwart Len McCluskey in running for top Unite job". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 21 November 2010. 
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Mann, Emily (13 September 2010). "Len McCluskey: Burning desire". New Statesman. Retrieved 21 November 2010. 
8. ↑ "Re-elect Len McCluskey - Unite 4 Len - Len McCluskey for Unite General Secretary". Unite 4 Len. Retrieved 2013-07-11. 
9. ↑ People's Assembly opening letter http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/05/people-assembly-against-austerity 5 February 2013, The Guardian Newspaper.
10. ↑ "BBC News - Unite chief says Labour 'picking wrong fight' over Falkirk". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-11. 
11. ↑ "Len McCluskey denies thwarting Falkirk Labour probe". BBC News. 3 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013. 
12. ↑ McSmith, Andy (1 April 2014). "Unite union boss Len McCluskey threatens to launch party to rival Labour". The Independent. Retrieved 2 April 2014. 
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Andrew Gilligan (20 March 2010). "British Airways strike: The rise of 'Red' Len McCluskey". Daily telegraph. Retrieved 21 July 2013. 

External links

• Articles by McCluskey in The Guardian