Unite’s Sharon Graham faces challenge from her left as she seeks second term

Unite members will soon decide who should lead Britain’s largest trade union for the next four years as incumbent Sharon Graham faces off against a far-left challenger.

Graham, first elected as the union’s first female general secretary in 2021, is seeking a second term in office but is facing competition from Unite international director and executive committee member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign Simon Dubbins.

While Graham has touted her record, Dubbins has called for a “fresh start” to “take the fight to Reform and tackle the cost of living crisis”.

The pair have been known to clash in recent years. 

As union branches prepare to nominate candidates for the contest, LabourList has taken a closer look at the two contenders to so far enter the race.

Sharon Graham

Incumbent general secretary Sharon Graham left school and began work as a waitress at 16, leading her first walkout the following year – securing equal pay for her colleagues.

She later attended the TUC Organising Academy and became an experienced and successful negotiator – boasting a 100 percent track record for every campaign she has led, winning 12 campaigns during her time running Unite’s organising and leverage department.

Graham, considered on the left of the union, stood for election as general secretary in 2021 without the endorsement of any faction and faced abuse when she refused calls from supporters of the left candidate Howard Beckett to stand down to prevent the election of the centrist candidate. She went on to win the contest with 37.7 percent of the vote.

Following her election, Graham has stressed her priority is the jobs, pay and conditions of Unite members, championing victories at the negotiating table and successful campaigns over winter fuel, defending steelworkers and redefining the union’s relationship with Labour with “no more blank cheques”.

With a further four years, Graham intends to enact the rest of her original manifesto alongside a “supportive executive”, with the pledge of a “concrete plan to take our union back to the workplace for good”.

On her campaign website, Graham said: “Almost five years ago, together we began to change our union. We took our union back to the workplace – back to our reps and members.

“Together, we have delivered hundreds of millions of pounds back into the pockets of members from successful disputes alone. Profiteers exposed. Cash to politicians cut. Winter fuel campaign won. Billions secured for steel. Government contracts won for British aerospace. Promises made. Promises kept.

“We are only just beginning. I am announcing my intention to stand for re-election to continue the change we started together. To continue to win, to deliver on jobs, pay and conditions.

“Workers will always be my priority. I will fight for you.”

Simon Dubbins

Challenger Simon Dubbins has almost 30 years of experience in trade union activism, first joining the Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU) in 1997, and becoming the international director for Unite in 2008.

Dubbins witnessed Thatcher’s attacks on trade unions firsthand while spending considerable time on a picket line during the Wapping Dispute in 1986.

During his time at Unite, Dubbins secured a link between the union and the United Steel Workers of North America. He serves as the union’s officer for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and leads the union’s support for campaigns advocating peace in Colombia and Kurdistan.

His campaign is centred on making Unite work better for members, pledging a “fresh start” to “reunite our union and get back to doing what we do best: fighting for our members in the workplace and fighting to build a better society”.

In a campaign video, Dubbins said: “I’m standing because I believe, when our union gets it right, we have an immense power and influence to improve the lives and wellbeing of our members.

“While thousands of our members have been fighting to protect jobs, raise pay and improve conditions, we’ve had a leadership that has destroyed our internal cohesion and unity, seriously financially damaged our union, and dragged us away from the wider movement.

“That’s the type of leadership that saps our energy and weakens our ability to fight. It’s the type of leadership that prioritises their own interests at the expense of our members’ struggles and battles. And it’s the type of leadership that needs to go.”

What happened at the last election?

Then-executive officer of Unite Sharon Graham defeated Steve Turner at the last general secretary election in 2021, which came as veteran trade unionist Len McCluskey retired.

Although Turner had secured the most union branch nominations, Graham secured almost 5,000 more votes in the election, with 46,696 to Turner’s 41,833. A third candidate, Gerard Coyne, won just over 35,000 votes.

When will we know the result?

Unite’s 1.2 million-strong membership will have between July 14 and August 11 to cast their vote for general secretary, with the result being announced on August 14.

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