The Unite union has confirmed the appointment of its first female leader, Sharon Graham.
Graham is currently head of the union’s organisation department. Tomorrow (26 August) she will take over from long-time leader Len McCluskey, who has retained the general secretary post since 2010.
Graham said: “I am honoured to have been elected by our members, and I understand that the trust that they have placed in me brings with it tremendous responsibility.
“Our members expect their union to be in their corner so I was proud to stand on a manifesto that pledged to put our members and our workplaces first. I will deliver on those promises.
“Unite is an incredible force for good in the UK and Ireland but I am fully aware of the huge challenges our members face in the workplace. As general secretary, I will put all the power of our union into defending their jobs, improving their pay and protecting their rights.”
McCluskey said he was “very proud to be handing over to our first woman general secretary”.
“Sharon comes into office at a time of great uncertainty for our members and a challenging political environment,” he said. “From assaults on workers’ rights to the fear that the end of furlough will bring with it increased and needless unemployment, the in-tray is full. But I know that she will build on our values and harness the talents of our great union in the service of our members and our movement.”
McCluskey had backed her rival Steve Turner, who is assistant general secretary and came second place in the vote.
Gerard Coyne, an ally of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, came third in the vote. A fourth candidate, Howard Beckett, pulled out earlier this year.
In her election manifesto, Graham described herself as the “workplace candidate” who would bypass “smears, scandals or internal Labour politics” and focus on action.
She said she would stop any plans to increase union membership costs and freeze membership fees for a period of at least 12 months. She would also bring in a new transparent system for membership rates to make it “affordable for everyone”.
Graham said she would make herself “the most accountable general secretary in the history of Unite”, opening a hotline to her office for complaints and promising to publish all of her expenses online.
She cited some of her campaigning victories such as defeating fire and rehire plans at bus company Go Ahead, negotiations at crisis-stricken British Airways and stopping the end of wage bargaining at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
“I am the workers’ candidate and I will not bow to the Westminster Brigade,” she claimed, referring to her rival candidates’ political affiliations. McCluskey and his preferred successor have been critical of Starmer’s Labour leadership, for example, funding legal challenges to the party over suspensions and expulsions.
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In January the UK’s largest trade union, Unison, elected its first female leader. Christine McAnea succeeded Dave Prentis as its new general secretary, vowing she “won’t be the last” female union leader.
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