Union Bully Boys

The union bully boys are out in force it seems with Unite demanding that Jim Murphy resign as the leader of the Scottish Labour Party.

Now I don't carry a torch for Jim, as regular readers know, but it's worth remembering that the geniuses from Unite (plus some of their union chums) are the ones who installed Ed Miliband as the UK leader, despite the fact that the majority of individual Labour party members voted for his brother, David. 

And that showed terrible judgment, of course, because Ed went on to acquire just about the worst poll ratings in Scotland for any Labour leader in history and the truth is that Ed Miliband (the unions' choice) was about as popular as a rat sandwich at a vegetarian picnic.

So who are these union bosses to demand Jim Murphy's head when six months ago he resoundingly beat every other contender in Scotland to take on what most people would regard as an impossible job?

The same chumps that gave us the Ineos dispute, of course, when Unite called a strike over a local union official who was accused of spending much of his time doing Labour Party work when he should have been concentrating on the interests of the local workforce.  

Now this happened at the time of the Falkirk vote-rigging scandal which Ed Miliband started to take seriously, but then backed off when the going got tough. Hell, yes!

If you ask me, it would do the Labour Party some good to have a long hard look at itself before people start to apportion blame and go looking for scapegoats, and that includes the trade unions as well who are fond of dishing out criticism but seldom take it well.

Besides Murphy seems to have retained his sense of humour by pointing out that the po-faced hypocrites in Unite wanted him to resign even before he became leader.

Now that is funny.       


Election 2015: Unite union calls on Jim Murphy to resign

Jim Murphy said he would remain as Scottish Labour leader and stand for Holyrood next year

Pressure is growing on the Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy after the Unite union called on him to resign.

The union, which was the party's biggest donor during the last parliament, said Mr Murphy should stand down "without delay".

It warned that otherwise "extinction looms" for the Scottish party.

Aslef, the train drivers' union, also called for Mr Murphy, who lost his East Renfrewshire seat in Thursday's poll, to resign his position as leader.

Labour lost all but one of its 40 Scottish seats to the SNP.

On Friday, Mr Murphy said he would remain leader of the party in Scotland and stand for a seat at Holyrood in next year's Scottish parliamentary election.

In a statement, Pat Rafferty, leader of Unite in Scotland, said: "It is time for change at the Scottish Labour Party.

"That is the overwhelming, unambiguous message from Scotland's people, including its trade union members, on Thursday.

"Either Scottish Labour rediscovers its mission as the natural voice for social justice in our nation, or irrelevance and ultimately extinction looms."

Mr Rafferty added: "Change must begin with a new leader. It is surprising that Jim Murphy should feel he still has a mandate to lead the party after Thursday's results.

"I call on Jim Murphy to resign without delay, and give the membership of the Scottish Labour Party the chance to determine their own way forward in rebuilding from Thursday's ruins."

In response, a spokesman for Scottish Labour said: "This is no surprise. They [Unite] wanted him to resign before he even became leader."

However Kevin Lindsay, Aslef's organiser in Scotland, said: "Jim Murphy has just presided over the worst election defeat in the history of the Scottish Labour Party.

"He has to go - and he has to go now."

'Radical solutions needed'

Elsewhere, Labour MSP Neil Findlay MSP, who stood against Mr Murphy for the leadership of the party, has resigned from the Scottish shadow cabinet.

In a statement, he said Thursday's election had been a "disaster" for Scottish party.

He added: "The problems are wide-ranging and deep.

"Radical solutions are needed and can only be implemented following a full, frank, open and democratic debate led by our loyal and hard working, committed party members - a centralised fix just won't do."

Earlier in the day, former Scottish Labour minister Andy Kerr had said his party needed to apologise for an "atrocious campaign".

Mr Kerr, who failed to win the Scottish Labour leadership in 2007, said the party in Scotland needed to be independent of the UK organisation.

He compared Mr Murphy's campaign to "dad-dancing in the most modern nightclub in the city of Glasgow".