Trade Union Liason Officer – Sarah Friday

We decided to stand candidates for all posts. We would state our arguments for why we suited the post in our statements, but would use our speeches to give voice to the factionalism in our CLP. For the first time in a while we could say how we felt without being silenced.

Our speeches would be an opportunity for the left to articulate the experience of being in Holborn & St Pancras CLP, controlled by a right-wing anti-Corbyn faction endorsed by Keir Starmer.

Holborn Left

At the end a member who is loosely tied to the right-wing faction commented on how he could have predicted how every vote would go before it happened. He had listened to us and taken on board what we said. Only time will tell whether others have too.

Sarah Friday stood for Trade Union Liason Officer. Sarah was TULO of the CLP before the take-over by the right wing faction of the CLP. She lost the vote, the result wasn’t very different to all other votes. Sarah was jeered and heckled towards the end of her speech when she mentioned Keir Starmer. Here is her speech.

“I am currently a UNITE delegate to our General and Executive Committees. In this capacity I have done the following since our last constituency AGM to argue for greater transparency and fairness in our local party

• I asked for the list of names of GC delegates to be shared with all those on this committee
• I also asked that trade union delegates only elect the union rep on the Local Campaign Forum

I asked that we set time aside at the GC to support the Camden UNISON traffic wardens who were on strike at the end of 2018/beginning of 2019 – these were a group of low paid, largely BME workers employed on one of Camden Councils out sourced services. Unfortunately time was not set aside to discuss and support their dispute.

I have written letters to the Camden New Journal, in May following the elections to the EU Parliament I wrote to support a statement made by my General Secretary, Unite’s Len McCluskey, after he criticised those Labour Party leaders who were supporting a second EU referendum – he said they had “no interest in a Labour victory at the next general election”.

I wrote in the same letter :

We must show to Labour party supporters who voted to leave the EU in 2016 that we will honour the referendum result and that we have a positive vision for life outside of the EU that will rebuild their communities. Only by doing this can we win the next General Election.

Unfortunately we didn’t do this – and consequently we lost the General Election. My prediction is that if we elect Keir Starmer – the architect of our disastrous Brexit policy – as our party leader. We will also lose the next General Election.”