As per the rumours swirling yesterday afternoon, the anti-Starmer Trot Sharon Graham has won the Unite General Secretary election, on a platform to cut political ties with the party:
Starmer’s man Coyne – who wrote an op-ed for The Sun during the course of the campaign – came last. Last night Labour insiders were putting on a brave face over the prospect of the result – let’s see how long that lasts…
The State of South Australia now mandates that citizens returning from trips from neighbouring states – within Australia – like New South Wales must quarantine for 14 days and place signs outside their homes. According to Police Commissioner Grant Stevens:
“they will be given a quarantine sign and be given a personal direction by an authorised officer to display that sign on the front of the premises they’re quarantining at for the 14-day period.”
The lesson of the last year is that hard lockdown police-state policies only delay the spread…
Among the tits protesting in central London this week, one Extinction Rebellion activist has proved breast in show: 31-year-old Laura Amherst from Brighton. This morning Laura spoke to camera about the imminent climate crisis and how there “in 2030 there won’t be any animals left on the planet”. Guido hereby promises to work as hard as possible to nip climate change in the bud…
One of the funniest lines to come out of a senior minister’s morning media round in a while, as Dominic Raab denied the press’ coverage of his holiday as Kabul fell. His primary evidence? He couldn’t have been lounging around enjoying himself as “the sea was actually closed, it was a red notice”. Might not be the most solid defence given he’s already being accused of ignoring other red flags…
Guido spotted an interesting quote today from European Council President Charles Michel, who took the opportunity to reflect on the 30 years since Ukraine declared independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union:
“I will go straight to the point: independence means sovereignty, and it means territorial integrity within internationally recognised borders.”
Maybe Michel’s finally seen the light after his previous warning that independence has ‘consequences‘. In any case, Guido’s always pleased to find points of agreement with our European neighbours…
It sounds like the race to be next Unite boss could be heading for a big upset as The Mirror and Huffington Post report the far-left Sharon Graham, an overlooked outsider, looks set to steal a win. According to The Mirror, a sample of 8,000 votes spread across 22 tables showed her to have the largest pile on each. They point to a “formidable” grassroots campaign…
Back when Guido did his last runners & riders article, Sharon was seen as “unlikely to take the top prize this time”; which would more likely go to either the Unite establishment candidate Steve Turner, controversial left-wing McCluskey ally Howard Beckett, who dropped out to back Turner, or the Starmerite “right” candidate Gerard Coyne. The final result isn’t out until Thursday.
Sharon’s platform has included saying the union’s “obsession with the Labour party needs to end”:
“We need to move beyond the internal struggles of the Labour Party. Labour will likely be in opposition for most of the next decade and workers can’t afford to wait.
As General Secretary I make no bones about saying that I will not be giving out blank cheques to any politician or political party.”
Her offering won over the hard left Socialist Worker, who have argued her campaign “reflects a thirst for change in Unite.” She also won backing from the SWP and Socialist Party, something she praised…
The reaction inside Labour to the speculative news is interestingly split; on the one hand she’s on record saying “Keir Starmer has failed workers” and is threatening to cut off funding. On the other if she’s promising to move away from internal Labour politics she may prove quieter on some rows, which may save face for Starmer. A Labour insider tells Seb Payne “The moderates haven’t won, nor have the communists”…
