Tim Roache elected new general secretary of GMB

Tim Roache has today been elected as the new general secretary of GMB, one of the UK’s biggest trade unions and major backer of the Labour Party. He replaces Paul Kenny, who has been in the post since 2005, and stood down at the end of his most recent term.

Roache, who is currently GMB Regional Secretary for Yorkshire & North Derbyshire, beat Paul McCarthy by a margin of 57% to 43%, LabourList understands. Sources describe Roache as a “modernising left union leader”.

GMB was the biggest trade union not to endorse any candidate in the Labour leadership contest this summer, and could play an interesting role in Labour debates in the coming months. Due to the workers they represent, they are both generally pro-Trident and pro-Heathrow expansion, and are often one the more vocally Eurosceptic trade unions.