Tom Watson savaged by former best pal and trade union heavyweight ‘Red’ Len McCluskey in astonishing declaration of war
Unite chief slammed Labour’s deputy leader for peddling the 'politics of yesteryear' in his conference speech
LABOUR’s Tom Watson has been savaged by former best pal and trade union heavyweight ‘Red’ Len McCluskey in an astonishing declaration of war.
The Unite chief slammed Labour’s deputy leader for peddling the “politics of yesteryear” in his barnstorming conference speech yesterday – when he urged the party to respect Tony Blair’s achievements.
And in a thinly veiled attack the pro-Corbyn union baron hinted Mr Watson’s future was under question.
He said: “If Tom Watson wants to refresh his mandate it will be interesting to see
what happens.”
The pair of Labour bruisers used to share a flat. And Red Len dated Tom Watson’s former office manager Karie Murphy, now a top Jeremy Corbyn official.
Unite also threw their weight behind Tom Watson’s bid to be deputy leader last year – when he won with 50 per cent of the vote.
But insiders told the Sun the staggering comments exposed a bitter falling out between the pair over the past year.
RELATED STORIES:
They claimed they were now in a race to force the other one out of their job. Len McCluskey faces a Unite re-election contest in 2018.
Asked by the Sun if he felt Tom Watson should put himself up for re-election, Len McCluskey added: “That’s up to him. I might have a view, but I’m keeping it private.”
One source said: “Len has been looking to say that, about Tom’s mandate, for a while. They were close but ever since Tom got the deputy leader job Len thinks he’s drifted away ideologically.”
A Watson supporter said: “Len McCluskey killed off the coup against Corbyn earlier this summer and the ‘moderates’ realise that getting him out of Unite is key to toppling Jeremy. Tom won’t rest until he’s gone.”
The spat threatens to dominate the inner politics of the Labour party for months.
Mr Watson earned rave reviews from Labour veterans on Tuesday for a speech where he said that “trashing” the records of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown was wrong.
And he added that Labour had to reach out to ordinary voters and business chiefs if it wanted to get back into Downing Street. During a standing ovation, Jeremy Corbyn remained rooted on his chair.
Lily Allen – the pro-Corbyn singer – branded Mr Watson a “snake” on Twitter.
Speaking on Sky News yesterday morning, Mr McCluskey said the speech was "extraordinary" for having no vision.
He said: "Tom's speech was extraordinary - it confused me.
"It seemed to be saying New Labour and the Third Way was the way forward.
"It doesn't surprise me as Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell are putting forward an alternative. The right wing of the party have got no vision so they're going back to yesteryear."