Sir Ken Jackson, a close ally of Prime Minister Tony Blair, has lost the
leadership of union Amicus.
Jackson, seeking re-election, lost to left-winger Derek Simpson who becomes
new joint general secretary.
Simpson won on the fourth recount by just 406 votes. He polled 89,521 votes
to Jackson’s 89,115. More than 400 ballot papers were void.
A spokesman for the GMB union said the vote was part of a swing away from
New Labour occurring across the union movement.
Simpson, a former member of the Communist Party, has been a Labour Party
member for the past 10 years. He has said he is not a "Blairite" but
"not anti-Blair either".
He said he wants parity with the euro-zone on employment legislation and
plans to press the Government for legislation to protect employee pension
schemes.
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