Inside the FBU ‘civil war’ as union urges ‘civilised’ general secretary contest

The Fire Brigades Union has warned members that the campaign for its general secretary election must be fought in a “civilised manner”, amid claims of personal abuse on social media, significant tensions at the top and a government probe into its finances.

Members of the FBU will be balloted next month on whether to re-elect incumbent Matt Wrack for a fifth term as general secretary, or to opt for the union’s vice-president Steve Wright.

However, the campaign has become so heated that the union has said it is seeking legal advice in relation to some specific posts on social media.

In a statement circulated to members earlier this month, Ben Selby, the FBU’s assistant general secretary, said: “This election, like any other, should not be used to target and attack any individual or group of individuals. Anyone involved in such behaviour brings shame on themselves and on our union.”

The threat to Wrack as tensions simmer

Wrack, who has been the union’s general secretary since 2005, faces a notable challenge to his leadership. LabourList has learned that Wright has secured a significant number of branch nominations in the run-up to the election next week.

In an interview with LabourList, Wrack said he had faced “nasty” attacks during this campaign, and accused his opponent of “political cowardice” for not engaging in public debate.

Wright, whose campaign has focused on “transparency and accountability”, said in a statement to LabourList the debate should be internal with members. He has not given any media interviews about his campaign, but said in a statement online after this piece was first published that Wright’s attack was “inflammatory and hypocritical”.

LabourList has learnt the vote comes amid signs of fractured relations within its senior ranks, as well as an ongoing government watchdog’s investigation into the union’s handling of settlement agreements.

Documents seen by LabourList show Wright’s bid for the FBU’s leadership comes less than a year after he himself investigated and recommended disciplinary action against Wrack, upholding a complaint that Wrack had breached union rules.

The complainant, who had brought a separate defamation case against a senior employee, was objecting to the union’s funding of the employee’s defence costs, official documents seen by LabourList show.  However, Wrack challenged the handling of process, the union sought expert external legal advice, and the union’s executive council decided against disciplinary action against the general secretary.

‘Unfinished business’

Wrack, who recently served as TUC president, told LabourList he is standing for re-election “because I’m clear in my head that I’m the best candidate”.

He said: “We’ve come through a difficult period of 14 years of austerity. We’ve survived that in one piece and we’ve also inflicted defeats on the previous government.

“With the new government, we’ve done a lot of work to prepare the ground around how you rebuild the fire service, including through national standards. I want to see that through and I think I am by far the best person to do that, having designed the campaign, agenda and strategy around it.

“There’s basically a lot of unfinished business that I want to see through and there’s some opportunities under the new government that I have clear plans for.”

Standing together, we can shape our future and build a service and profession to be proud of.

I am standing for re-election as General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, sign up to back my campaign 👉 https://t.co/URGFCf0SiM pic.twitter.com/DJr07XfqOY

— Matt Wrack (@MattWrack) October 2, 2024

‘Our members deserve accountability at all levels’

In his pitch to the membership, Steve Wright said he wanted “every member’s voice to be heard and respected within and across our union” and promised to lead with “accountability, integrity and transparency”.

He said: “Our members deserve to have transparency and accountability at all levels of our union. It is their union and I will lead by these principles.

“Our union is not about one person; it is all about our collective and our collective strength when we come together.”

For all FBU members,

I’m Steve Wright and I’m standing to be the next General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union.

We are at a critical time, we face many challenges both in the Fire and Rescue Service and within the Fire Brigades Union.

I have wide support from across the… pic.twitter.com/1snAZY1Tjy

— Steve Wright (@UnionSteveW) July 30, 2024

Are you a member of the FBU? Get in touch with your views on the election by emailing [email protected].

LabourList approached Steve Wright for an interview, but he issued a statement instead.

He said: “It is the members of the Fire Brigades Union who will decide this election. Internal elections should remain focused on the issues and not be the subject of outside interference and comment.

“Trade union officials and trade union elections are not the same as politicians and elections for public office. We are not accountable to the public, only to our members.

“I am committed to ensuring this process is fair, democratic, and respectful of our collective values and our rules and agreed processes.

“These processes do not include engaging with the mainstream media outlets.”

‘Political cowardice’

Wrack has gone on the offensive about his opponent’s campaign and, in particular, questioned why his opponent had not agreed to a hustings for members to hear the case from both candidates.

“I find it utterly bizarre that Steve Wright’s campaign want to change the general secretary and put a new general secretary in office without subjecting him to any scrutiny whatsoever.

“I think it is political cowardice. If he were to be elected, he can’t run away from difficult debates. It’s not easy to discuss with the fire service employers, to discuss with the government, to get called as a witness in a select committee in the House of Commons, or to go on Newsnight.

“The idea you can run away from a debate with me, it is one of the most ludicrous things I’ve ever seen in this union frankly.”

Steve Wright’s campaign has said on its website that an “open forum” where “questions and concerns can be raised and addressed in a focused and constructive manner” is better than a potentially “divisive” hustings with “ineffective” set questions.

Wright has chosen and will continue to “prioritise direct dialogue with members over polarising public debates”, a statement adds.

A past statement also said that Wright had “proactively communicated his vision and provided members with essential information, addressing a criticism often directed at candidates in past elections”.

READ MORE: FBU warns Tory austerity ‘needs to stop’ to rebuild fire services

‘It’s one of the worst campaigns I’ve seen in our union’

Wrack said that this year’s election had been particularly “nasty”, claiming that supporters of Wright had “resorted to personal attacks on me”.

“It’s one of the worst campaigns I’ve ever seen in our union on that front, and those people should be ashamed of themselves. They don’t represent the vast majority of FBU members – the vast majority are decent, honest and straightforward people and many people are appalled by what’s going on.

“When I was elected in 2005, the union was deeply and bitterly divided after a very long and difficult pay campaign and my main aim at that point was to try and reunite and rebuild. I did that through campaigning on issues that affected our members rather than focusing on disagreements between officials of the union, and that’s what we need to do.

“That’s what my campaign is actually about – talking about the future of the fire service and the pay, conditions, pensions and jobs of our members.”

READ MORE: Labour’s landslide win largely an ‘anti-Tory vote’, FBU general secretary says

LabourList approached Steve Wright about Wrack’s allegations but repeated his view that the election is an internal matter.

However after this piece was first published, Wright’s campaign said on its website: “We categorically reject any claims that Steve’s campaign has engaged in personal attacks. On the contrary, the General Secretary’s use of phrases like “political cowardice” and “one of the worst campaigns I’ve seen” highlights the increasing hostility in his rhetoric.

“This type of divisive language, coupled with the General Secretary’s tendency to frame disagreements as personal affronts, underscores the frustrations of many members, activists, branch officials, and EC members who are calling for new leadership.”

Wrack acknowledges election has been a ‘challenge’

Wrack admitted the election has been a “challenge” and that he faced a “well-organised campaign” for Wright, with one source telling LabourList the challenger had secured more than double the number of branch endorsements.

“Mr Wright has received a very significant number of nominations and he has clearly been planning this campaign for more than a year. Mr Wright has never discussed his campaign with me and nor have any of his supporters. I still don’t know what their disagreements with me are, other than they want Mr Wright to be general secretary.

“They say it’s time for change, but I don’t know what that change means other than a change of names.

“I think our union is very united, the members of our union until now have been very united – and when I speak to them around the country, they are very pleased with much of what the union has done.”

LabourList approached Wright over Wrack’s claims, but he referred to his previous statement regarding engaging with the media during the campaign.

Later, Wright’s campaign said online that the “election has made it clear that members feel a growing disillusionment” about Wrack’s leadership.

They also criticised the campaign rules, suggesting they “undeniably favour those with higher earnings who can campaign without relying on taking leave”.

‘Not a right-versus-left battle’

While Wright has chosen not to engage with the press during the campaign, one group publicly opposing Matt Wrack’s leadership during this campaign has been the Campaign for a Democratic FBU, which has attracted just under 5,000 followers on X.

The campaign says it fights for greater democracy, accountability and transparency within the union, and claims there is an “autocratic leadership regime”.

The group’s secretary is Paul Embery, a former FBU official who supported Wrack’s 2005 leadership bid but later became embroiled in an unfair dismissal case against the union. He initially won his case in a row partly over his pro-Brexit campaigning, but lost it on appeal in 2023.

It was also Embery who brought the complaint against Wrack that Wright investigated and upheld, before the FBU took legal advice and its executive then dropped the case.

Acknowledging he was “one of [Wrack’s] most vocal opponents,” he has publicly backed Wright, and claimed that momentum had shifted away from Wrack in the past 18 months.

READ MORE: Labour mayors to be made more accountable to party

Embery also claimed there had been an “erosion” of internal democracy, accountability and transparency, and that there was a “general sense that the leadership has lost its way”.

Wrack said that the union has “nothing to hide in terms of transparency” and claimed that Wright “has never once made any proposal for greater transparency” during his time on the union’s national executive council.

Embery said he did not see any kind of “discernible difference politically in a significant way between Matt Wrack and Steve Wright”.

“This is not a right versus left battle. It’s much more about what’s been going on internally within the union over the last year or 18 months.”

Government investigation over settlement agreements

The election comes in the middle of an ongoing investigation by the government’s Certification Officer.

It first investigated claims made by five FBU members of “financial irregularities”. However, the officer confirmed in late 2023 that she would take no further action. The union’s national officer said at the time the case should have been raised by members internally instead, and had diverted significant resources from the union’s main work.

However, another issue then emerged this year. Wrack was quizzed by MPs in March about whether the FBU used non-disclosure agreements. He told them the FBU had used settlement agreements but called them a “common practice in employment”.

Wrack told them such agreements “may include a confidentiality clause”, but added later that the committee’s line of questioning would be seen by members as “an attempt to undermine our union”.

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The Certification Office is now investigating whether all settlement agreements were properly authorised under union rules. Embery claimed the situation had left some members thinking it was “time for change”, and the union “should not be engaging in these sorts of practices.” 

But Wrack noted the CO’s investigation was not launched “unilaterally”, as it followed Embery and others raising concerns with the watchdog.

Wrack said: “All those matters were reported to the executive council. To be clear on my own role in those three cases, I played no role whatsoever.” He also called himself “quite formal about process”.

‘Major factionalism and infighting’

Embery said it felt like the union was in a“debilitating civil war”, drawing comparisons with the rifts the FBU faced in the run-up to Wrack’s first victory in 2005. He said: “We are absolutely riven by factionalism and infighting in our union at the moment.”

However, Wrack hit back at criticism by Embery and the “so-called” Campaign for a Democratic FBU, and said people should “look at” who Embery had associated with. Wrack highlighted a recent case where an individual previously involved in the campaign group was barred from union membership over alleged racist and pro-fascist social media posts.

A release by the union itself called the organisation a “tiny group” that has “publicly attacked the FBU’s campaigns and policies”.

In response, Embery said that the Campaign for a Democratic FBU “condemns racism and fascism unreservedly”, and that the individual concerned is no longer involved in the group.

Wright’s campaign issued a statement online which appeared to Embery’s comments too. “This election is not a civil war; it is a democratic process. The Steve4GS campaign has consistently avoided inflammatory language and maintained respect for the union’s collective values and rules.”

The ballot will be held from December 10 until January 14, with the result expected to be announced early in the new year.

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