The long-running battle between Sharon Graham, General Secretary of the Unite union and Starmer continues. With Rayner and other union allies out in the cold, the deep-pocketed socialists over at Unite are pulling the plug…
Unite voted this week cut its party affiliation fee by £580,000, which usually goes straight into Labour HQ coffers. As the union says, although it has been threatened before, it has not actually happened, so this is a new departure. “This is unprecedented”, a union press release claimed…
Graham had repeatedly threatened to cut Labour funding. The move will cause anxiety among union-backed MPs who will rely on Unite donations for any plausible attempt at re-election in 2029. Don’t be surprised if it feeds through to even more leadership unrest…
In Henry Mance’s piece today for the FT, lunching with Nigel Farage:
“Splendido!” Farage says, when the drinks arrive; I suppose it’s a step to European reconciliation. We clink glasses, and he lights the first of two back-to-back Benson & Hedges. A few minutes later, we’re back downstairs. “Are you drinking? Good.” He orders a glass of Sauvignon blanc for each of us — not a bottle, “because it’s Lent” — followed by a bottle of claret, to have with our meal. They say Farage drinks less than he used to. They say a lot of things.”