The leading contenders to take over Unite have distanced themselves from claims by outgoing boss Len McCluskey that Labour could "go under" with Keir Starmer at the helm.
Steve Turner and Gerard Coyne, who are vying for the top job at Britain's most powerful union, suggested they would focus on the issues facing their union's 1.4 million members, rather than regularly wading into party politics.
Sharon Graham, the sole female candidate who has strong backing from the union's left, meanwhile called political "wrangles" a "secondary priority" for Unite.
Mr McCluskey, who is standing down as General Secretary after 11 years, made headlines this week with a parting shot at Mr Starmer this week, in his memoirs Always Red, in which he accused the Labour leader of pulling the party to the right, failing to inspire voters in so-called Red Wall seats and an "anti-democratic crackdown on the left".
Mr Coyne, who was narrowly defeated by 'Red Len' during the 2017 contest, told the Mirror: “This is exactly the kind of unnecessary and unhelpful intervention you will not see me making if I am elected as General Secretary of Unite.
"Members of the union now have a clear choice: change with me, or more of this sort of thing with the other candidates.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mr Turner, the favourite to succeed Mr McCluskey, signalled he would take a similar approach.
He said: "Steve is in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, today, trying to make Rolls Royce deliver on its commitment to the future of an historic factory and hundreds of jobs, not reading extracts from the outgoing general secretary's memoirs."
Ms Graham said: "The Labour Party’s internal wrangles are a secondary priority for my leadership of the union. Labour are not even in power. My priority above all else is to build the power of the union at the workplace.
"Fighting for jobs pay and conditions is what trade unions are for. If we build the power of Unite at the workplace politics will have to follow that."
Mr McCluskey attacked Mr Starmer's refusal to readmit Jeremy Corbyn to the Parliamentary Labour Party.
The former leader was expelled from the party, after he claimed allegations of anti-semitism were "exaggerated" and "overstated" by political opponents. He was allowed back into the party but sits an independent MP.
Mr McCluskey said in his new autobiography that he still "hoped and believed that Keir Starmer could be Prime Minister".
He added: "But I was fearful that if he continued on the course set in his first year of leadership he would not win back the Red Wall seats.
"If a general election was called early, which seemed possible, Starmer would have little time to rectify his mistakes.
"He still had the opportunity to change course, unite his party around a radical platform and make the promised 'moral case for socialism'.
"But he needed to realise that if the ship he was captaining listed too far to the right, it would go under."
The Labour leader hit back at the Unite boss on Thursday, saying he was "wrong", adding: "I've a lot of respect for Len McCluskey but I don't agree with him on everything and this is one where I don't agree with him."
The news that all three candidates seem less willing to intervene in politics will be a relief for Mr Starmer ahead of the Labour Party's conference in Brighton in September, where activists are set to clash with the leadership over Mr Corbyn, trans rights and green policy.
Mr McCluskey's outburst comes with just days remaining in the race, with ballots closing on Monday August 23 and the new General Secretary set to be announced on Thursday August 26.
Today, all three candidates write for the Mirror setting out why they think they are the best person to lead Unite.
The candidates in their own words
Sharon Graham
More than thirty years ago, when I was 17, I led my first dispute about casual
workers being given a raw deal. We won. From that moment on I knew that the
collective power of workers, organised in the trade unions, was the only way to
protect jobs, pay and conditions. And win.
That’s really what it says on the tin for trade unions - get a better deal for workers,
defend trade union rights and defeat bad bosses.
We need a more professional Union. That is why I will introduce a new Member
Guarantee so that every question receives a response within 24 hours and our
legal services are directed locally to our members.
I want Unite to be affordable. Many members are struggling due to Covid and that is
why I will review our membership rates, freeze subs for 12 months and commit to
raising fees no more than once every 2 years.
But we also need a leader capable of winning big against rogue employers. Most
recently it was leverage tactics, which I built, that defeated bus company Go North
West. They were hell bent on a ‘fire and rehire’ strategy to drive down wages and
cut jobs. We stopped that. You can add British Airways to that list, as well as
winning big for construction workers. I have a record of delivery that can’t be
matched in this election.
It’s also the case that trade unions have not stepped up to the plate for women. I’ll
change that. That goes for all under-represented groups in the union. We need
practical action not more empty rhetoric.
Finally a big question. Has the Parliamentary Labour Party ever won an industrial
dispute or secured a wage deal? The answer is ‘No’. I am fed up with the union’s
focus on internal wrangles in the Labour Party. I am the only candidate who hasn’t
held a political position or wanted to be an MP.
Time to get back to what it says on the tin. Jobs, Pay and Conditions. I am the only
candidate who can deliver that. Let’s take Unite back to the workplace.
Steve Turner
39 years ago, when I joined our union as a bus worker, my union gave me hope and a future.
My leadership will be devoted to the protection and advancement of your jobs, pay, families and communities.
Dyslexic and reliant on free school meals, then unemployed and raising a young family, I know what it’s like to struggle to pay the bills and put food on the table. I’ve walked miles for job interviews because I couldn’t afford the fare.
Today, I am proud of the role I played for Unite in securing the furlough programme, saving 11 million workers from unemployment during the pandemic, and giving key industries a fighting chance of coming through.
These are my commitments;
• ‘One Call, That’s All’. A freephone number and ‘unite assist’ app to give Members support and information when they need it, 24/7.
• World-leading education, training, investment and resources.
• A massive green economy programme demanding a workers transition to create decent work, grow UK manufacturing, improve our health and strengthen our communities.
• A dedicated team for the protection and growth of our public services, keeping our assets out of private hands – and with our pandemic heroes from the NHS, to the buses, rewarded properly.
• A subs freeze for at least 2 years – but with no cutting corners on support and representation.
• Rapid response, industrial campaigns teams. From Sports Direct to fire and rehire, I have shown that we will always take on – and beat – bad bosses.
• A digital renewal of Unite, with new workplace apps to help organise precarious workers and investment in a Unite TV project.
• Clear on-going opposition to; austerity, off-shoring, outsourcing, poverty pay, cuts to universal credit – I will always oppose the driving down of living standards.
• No ‘no-go areas’ - Unite will target and grow in emerging sectors and changing workplaces, from warehousing to home working, fighting exploitation and the race to the bottom.
• Review Unite’s structures to ensure that Scotland, Ireland, Wales and our English regions have a bigger voice and resources to match, without diluting our unity.
Join me in building a bigger, better union
Gerard Coyne
I am standing to change Unite, so the Union puts its members first once again. We need real change because Unite has been going down the wrong path.
Over the last four years Unite has spent nearly £100 million building a luxury hotel. Now Steve Turner says he wants to set up Unite TV, broadcasting seven days a week from studios in every region. What next? A Unite the Union travel agency? A nightclub?
If I am elected, I will stop this nonsense. Unite should be a trade union focused on defending our members. If I become General Secretary jobs, pay and conditions will be my focus every day.
I’ll freeze membership subs for two years, stop the waste and give Unite members better value for money. I will put Unite’s legal, financial and industrial muscle behind our members, not political games.
I’ll stop Unite’s meddling in Westminster politics and have a robust, grown-up relationship with the Labour Party. Unlike the other candidates I’m not backed by fringe parties like the Communists and the Socialist Workers. I’m proud to be the mainstream candidate.
If we focus on what our members really want from their union, then more people will join and that will make us stronger.
This is a priority because Unite has fewer members now than in 2017 and we have failed to recruit in growing companies like Amazon. They have over 45,000 workers in the UK and just a few hundred are Unite members. Our approach to recruitment and organising – led for years by Sharon Graham, another internal candidate in this election – isn’t working.
We need stronger, more effective trade unions that people actually want to join. That is how I will change Unite.
