Blair union ally faces claims of vote-rigging
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Your support makes all the difference.Supporters of Tony Blair's closest union ally faced new allegations of ballot rigging last night as eight union officials were ordered to appear at disciplinary hearings.
Derek Simpson, a left-winger challenging Sir Ken Jackson for the top job at Amicus-AEEU, alleged that yet another branch of the union had cast its vote improperly. The new accusations about the nominating process come just days before the ballot proper which begins on Monday.
An inquiry into apparent irregularities decided that six officials in the union's South-east area should face disciplinary procedures over allegations that they voted more than once in separate branches to nominate Sir Ken to retain his job as general secretary.
Four of the union officers had already been named by Mr Simpson, but the committee discovered that two others were allegedly involved.
Roger Maskell, who was the top official in the region, resigned after being accused of wiping computer records to cover up the alleged complicity of the union's headquarters in "double-voting".
Last night Mr Simpson challenged the inquiry committee's decision to discipline two officials from the union's branch at Caerphilly in south Wales. The union's investigators alleged that the two men had presided over an unconstitutional meeting which nominated Mr Simpson. Their report said the vote to nominate the left-winger had followed a properly constituted meeting which chose Sir Ken.
Mr Simpson alleged, however, that the first meeting was unconstitutional, not the second. He claimed that an un-named official had "bullied" the branch secretary into holding the vote before the chairman of the branch and other union members turned up. He alleged that it was "another shabby attempt" to circumvent the union's regulations.
A spokesman for the union replied that the inquiry report was unanimously backed by the union's national executive which included supporters of Mr Simpson.
Sir Ken said: "I didn't fight the Communist ballot-riggers in the 1960s to have ballot-riggers tainting the union's good name now. I will take any action that is necessary to defend the probity of this organisation." There is no suggestion that Sir Ken was involved in irregularities. He received 351 branch nominations compared with 94 for Mr Simpson.
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