As Unite’s bitterly fought general secretary election reaches its endgame, Guido can reveal the “independent commissioner” chosen to oversee complaints about the ballot once wrote in support of candidate Len McCluskey. In an article for OpenDemocracy website, Ewing defended Len McCluskey from a negative Guardian editorial on Unite’s leadership:

“After the vigour and excitement of the student demonstrations against the cuts, today’s Guardian leader derides Unite’s new general secretary Len McCluskey as a ‘Bourbon’. Why? Because he proposes trade union action and strikes rather than defeatist acceptance of the government’s unjust and counter-productive deficit reduction plans… What does the Guardian editorial team – embedded in secure jobs in a plush new office – expect of trade union leaders in the face of the most swingeing attacks on jobs and services in a generation… “

Professor Keith Ewing has numerous other connections to Red Len:

• Ewing shared Len McCluskey’s platform at several meetings and rallies including Unite Live and Blacklist Support Group AGM;
• Ewing writes for the Morning Star, which openly supports Len in the election;
• Ewing was appointed to the Management Committee of the CLASS think tank which was conceived and launched by Len McCluskey;
• Ewing is the President of the Institute of Employment Rights where Len McCluskey is the Vice President

Unite rules state:

“The union’s rules provide for an independent Election Commissioner to adjudicate on complaints by candidates or the Executive Council. This is Professor Keith Ewing. Both the Returning Officer and Professor Ewing can be reached through the union’s Head Office.”

Len has cronies in the right places…