Union bosses trade blows over Red Len McCluskey’s efforts to rebrand Labour’s general election meltdown a success
Unite boss sparks war of words with Unison by claiming winning 200 seats will be a success in predicted Tory thrashing
UNION bosses have traded blows over a bid by Red Len McCluskey to rebrand a general election meltdown by Jeremy Corbyn as a success.
The Unite boss sparked fury by claiming Labour is likely to be thrashed by the Tories - but winning 200 seats would still be “successful”.
But Unison chief Dave Prentis blasted his defence of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership insisting only an outright Labour victory would constitute a successful campaign.
Slippery Red Len later yesterday spun a web of excuses backtracking on his comments saying he was now “full of optimism” for Labour’s chances.
His comments were seen as an attempt to lower expectations and help Jeremy Corbyn stay as leader post election.
In the interview, Mr McCluskey said: “The scale of the task is immense. People like me are always optimistic, things can happen. But I don’t see Labour winning. I think it would be extraordinary.”
But a day later he’d changed his tune, saying he was now “confident” of a Labour victory.
He said: “I believe these next three weeks will throw up something that is quite extraordinary. I’m full optimism for what Labour can achieve.
“There is everything to play for now and we’ll be fighting for every single vote.”
Yesterday Labour’s Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner laughed off the Unite leader’s comments Labour couldn’t win the General Election calling it “media spin”.
He joked: “I think Len was probably trying to lull the Conservatives into a false sense of security and make them complacent.”
Later Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told supporters at a campaign event in Lincoln: “He (Mr McCluskey) looked at the polls and said yes, we’ve got a mountain to climb.
“This morning, as he said quite clearly, we can win this, but it does require a lot of determination amongst our supporters to get out campaigning on the doorstep.”
But Mr Prentis - who has grown increasingly frustrated with the Labour leader’s poor performance – said: “The blame for these results does not lie solely with Jeremy Corbyn, but he must take responsibility for what happens next.
“Nurses, teaching assistants, care workers and ordinary people everywhere need a Labour government.
“Jeremy has to show he understands how to turn things around and deliver just that.”