On the morning of 9 July, one man precipitated the start of Labour’s leadership contest: Len McCluskey. The refusal of Unite’s general secretary to countenance the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn led Tom Watson, the party’s deputy leader, to cease negotiations. McCluskey responded in his characteristically pugnacious style. “An act of sabotage fraught with peril for the future of the Labour Party” was how he described his former flatmate’s actions.
McCluskey’s central role was fitting. Without his trade union, Corbyn would never have become Labour leader. In the summer of 2013, Unite campaigned for the selection of Karie Murphy, a friend of McCluskey (and now the director of Corbyn’s office), as Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Falkirk. It was after allegations of vote-rigging by Unite that Ed Miliband resolved to reform his party’s relationship with the unions, including their role in leadership elections.
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