Can Keir Starmer take on Len McCluskey and the unions?

It might seem from an outsider’s perspective that the Labour leader is in trouble now, writes Sean O’Grady - but all he really needs to do is keep up momentum

Len McCluskey’s frustrations with Sir Kier have reached a financial tipping point (Getty)

To borrow an old insult sometimes bandied around in the traditionally fractious Labour Party, Len McCluskey is not as nice as he looks. Or at least that might well be the conclusion drawn by the current leadership as Mr McCluskey proposes a 10 per cent cut in his union, Unite’s contributions to the Labour Party. 

As the country’s biggest union and as the party’s largest single donor, Unite’s move matters; and even three or four years from a general election it will make a difference to Labour’s ability to campaign on issues that concern Mr McCluskey’s members. In 2019, Unite gave some £3m to Labour’s doomed election campaign, and a total of £7m during the year in total.

Next year will see important elections in Scotland (crucially for Scottish Labour), in Wales, in London and across many municipalities.