Charlie Alford

Graham blows £0.5m of members’ cash in Beckett legal fight and fails

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

Unite’s former legal director, Howard Beckett, will have his claims heard at a full hearing after securing an employment appeals tribunal win. Beckett is suing Unite the Union — and current general secretary, Sharon Graham, personally — for breaching his privacy. Yet again Graham’s attempts to have the case thrown out have failed, at a huge cost, as the employment appeals tribunal (EAT) has given permission for all 11 grounds to proceed to hearing. Skwawkbox has previously covered Unite’s attempts to use a technicality against the union’s ex-general secretary candidate. Unite, Howard Beckett and the media pipeline Apart from Skwawkbox and…

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…

Sources allege Palestinian Authority hospitals are treating members of Israeli occupation backed anti-Hamas armed groups

Post author:Charlie Jaay
Post published:12 July 2026
Post last modified:12 July 2026

According to Quds News Network, sources claim the Palestinian Authority (PA) has begun providing medical treatment for members of armed groups in Gaza accused of collaborating with “Israel” — admitting them to hospitals in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian Authority treats collaborators with “Israel” in its hospitals This follows the Zionist regime’s refusal to receive wounded members of these militia groups at hospitals inside “Israel.” Instead, the Palestinian sources claim the PA coordinated the collaborators’ transfer to hospitals under its administration, where they received medical care and logistical support. One of the wounded fighters, who is identified only by the initials…

Exclusive: disgusted Your Party exec members call no-confidence vote over suspensions

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:6 July 2026
Post last modified:7 July 2026

Outraged members of Your Party’s elected executive (CEC) have called for a no-confidence vote in the CEC’s chair and secretary. It is clear that committee members are outraged over the chair’s move to suspend three well-known members last week. Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, Solma Ahmed and Mel Mullins were suspended for attending a socialist conference – even though Wimborne-Idrissi hadn’t attended. Your Party: more revelations In an email leaked to the Canary, one exec member wrote to fellow CEC members: Dear CEC members It is with huge regret that I write this email. But I feel strongly that it is needed. I have…

Another Sharon Graham die-hard asks Unite members to vote for her challenger

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:6 July 2026
Post last modified:6 July 2026

I now need to put right my wrong. These are the words of long-time Unite executive member and union convenor, Steve Hibbert, in a video he has published for the union’s general secretary election. Hibbert campaigned in 2021 for Sharon Graham to become Unite’s general secretary. Now, like fellow former-diehard Dave Williams, he wants union members to support her challenger, Simon Dubbins. Hibbert cites “grave concerns at the actions taken by the union under Sharon” and the “toxic” environment she (and her husband) have created. https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Hibbert-Unite-Subbed-hb.mp4 Unite exec member’s video could have been longer Hibbert’s succinct video could have been far,…

Communist Party USA says Democrat candidates aren’t members

Post author:The Canary
Post published:6 July 2026
Post last modified:7 July 2026

The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) has condemned president Trump’s red‑baiting tirades against the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) primary victories in New York, the District of Columbia and Colorado. It called them a dangerous escalation of anti‑communist hysteria. Co-chair Rossana Cambron said: MAGA is going to lose the midterms and Trump’s getting desperate. Trump told the recent Faith & Freedom Coalition that communism is the “greatest threat” facing the United States in its 250-year history. He said: They’re animals! These ruthless Communists will attack all religions but, in particular, Christianity. The party’s co-chair, Joe Sims, responded: “Our enemy is not God,…

Exclusive: Unite tells Community members ‘cancel fuel poverty protest with Greenpeace’

Post author:Cameron Baillie
Post published:26 June 2026
Post last modified:26 June 2026

Unite Community (UC), set up by then-general secretary Len McCluskey, is the Unite union’s section for unwaged people — and Unite’s most politically active. But members and officials feel marginalised by new general secretary Sharon Graham. They resent the union’s interference in their political activities, and have now been told they can’t participate in a climate protest. Probably because of who created it, and its campaigning focus, ‘workplace-only’ Graham was planning to wind down Unite Community and merge it with the retired members’ section. Graham U-turned on the plan after Skwawkbox exposed it — but the interference continues. Graham is currently…

US denies visas to 15 members of Iran’s 2026 World Cup delegation

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:7 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Preparations for the Iranian national team’s participation in the 2026 World Cup have escalated into a tense political issue, following a visa crisis that triggered a diplomatic spat between Tehran and Washington. Meanwhile, the team continues its technical training, focusing away from the administrative turmoil. For a long time, there were doubts and continuous discussions about whether the Iranian national team would participate in or withdraw from the 2026 World Cup due to the US war against Iran since last February. Visa crisis brings politics back to the World Cup While the Iranian national team players and technical staff received US…

Labour members overwhelmingly support ban on arms to Israel

Post author:The Canary
Post published:3 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

New polling of Labour Party members shows they overwhelmingly oppose the UK selling arms to Israel. They also want an end to trade with Israel’s illegal settlements. Over 60% are dissatisfied with the UK government’s response to Israel’s atrocities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and want it to take stronger action. This includes an 87% majority backing a ban on trade with illegal settlements, and a 78% majority backing the suspension of all UK arms exports to Israel. The poll also found over two-thirds support suspending the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement. The polling, commissioned by Save the Children UK, Christian…