Charlie Alford

Unite disengaged under Graham – MP and EC member come out for Dubbins

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:27 July 2026
Post last modified:28 July 2026

Incumbent general secretary (GS) Sharon Graham‘s disengagement from the politics Unite should be pushing for its members. The cushy cowardice of her paid organisers. These are the reasons a well-known MP and an elected Unite executive (EC) member have cited for calling on Unite members to support challenger Simon Dubbins in Unite’s GS election. The MP Scottish MP Brian Leishman is one of only a handful of Labour MPs to show honour and humanity over Israel’s genocide in Gaza. And Leishman was straightforward in his assessment of the GS contest: under Sharon Graham, Unite is betraying its members by ‘removing itself’…

Former Sharon Graham election organiser tells Unite members: “Vote Dubbins”

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:17 July 2026
Post last modified:17 July 2026

Unite official Matt Smith played an extensive role in Sharon Graham’s 2021 election campaign to become the union’s general secretary. But in the current general secretary election he is calling on members to back her rival Simon Dubbins for the job. Smith’s commitment to a Graham win was so great that he said “we will all work so hard to get Graham elected as Unite’s next general secretary”: Smith was then promoted in 2022 to Unite’s head of Member Relations: Changed tune But now, after five years of Graham running Unite, Smith has changed his mind completely. Now he has published…

Breaking: “You can’t hide” — Dubbins challenges Graham to Unite GS debate

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:4 July 2026
Post last modified:4 July 2026

Unite general secretary election challenger Simon Dubbins has publicly challenged incumbent Sharon Graham to stop hiding from him and debate him directly. The explosive challenge comes after Graham repeatedly sent proxies rather than face Dubbins in person, to the disgust of members — even close allies. While Dubbins attended every hustings to which he was invited, according to Unite insiders Graham didn’t attend a single hustings: As a result, Dubbins gained big wins in huge Unite sectors Graham would previously have considered sewn up tightly, including defence, air travel and construction. Dubbins is also set to win Unite’s ‘Community’ section —…

Unite nominations close sees Simon Dubbins win ‘core Graham’ sectors

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:30 June 2026
Post last modified:1 July 2026

Unite leadership challenger Simon Dubbins – the only candidate to consistently oppose Israel’s genocide, UK warmongering, and the union’s withdrawal as a political force – has secured more than enough branch nominations to stand against incumbent Sharon Graham. Not just enough nominations, but nominations in many of the sectors Graham’s supporters would have considered her core support. Graham has outraged Unite members and activists with her support for the arms industry and her opposition to anti-genocide protests. Unite’s war on its workforce, apparently to protect Graham’s husband Jack Clarke, has also disgusted many. Clarke was promoted – outside the union’s usual…