YouSaid · the spoken record

Len McCluskey

lines on the record: 44
first: 2021-05-07
most recent: 2021-05-07
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Well, he'd be saying he rejected the platform he stood on. Hey, Mike, because he's unpopular. Well, if he does that, well, no, because he's never promoted that. If he rejects. But if he does, if he rejects what he stood on, I believe that he'll make a fatal mistake because people will see him as being insincere, an insincere politicians get nowhere.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“2017 gave me enormous hope. I've never seen anything like it. It was a political phenomena and people need to learn what Jeremy Corbyn did and have faith and belief in our values because they are the values of millions and millions and millions of ordinary working people.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I'll still be given as much support as I possibly can, but we'll have a new General Secretary of Unit. I'm pretty confident that Unite will continue to be a powerful force on the left for working people. And I'll give support wherever I can.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You look at poetry last time we talked. I did. I did tell you I like poetry. And of course I'm going to spend some time sitting back and reading some poetry.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I'm going to spend some time catching up on reading. I'm going to try and learn a language. I'd love to learn Italian. And I'm obviously going to continue to try to support my union and the labour movement.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He has to win that trust back and he has to win the trust back of ordinary people. You've just been talking about Hartleypool and all the other Red Wall areas. How have they slipped away from Labour? They slip away from Labour because for many, many years, including under the Blair Blair Blair government that Peter Mandelson talked about are industrial heartlands have been devastated and not sufficient action has been taken to replace hope in those areas.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You in your terms? No, the reality is Kia was elected a year ago and I'm not suggesting for one minute he should resign. I'm suggesting he presses the resource.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I'm sorry about that, but yes, I haven't spoken to him since. Obviously, if he rang me, I would speak to him. I don't want to be nasty to anybody, but the truth of the matter at the moment is unless he presses that reset button, unless he goes back to making the moral case for socialism, unless he starts talking about the radical alternative for ordinary working people, then I'm afraid we'll find ourselves in this continuous downward decline. But if you can't trust it, Muhammad.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, unfortunately, when either side actually don't deliver the deal and then say there wasn't a deal, trust breaks down. And that's what happened with me and Kier. I'm sorry. That's it.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Write that. I knew I had a deal. I've been representing working people now for 50 years. And the one thing that is critical in a negotiation is when you reach a deal, either side have to trust each other. Employers have to trust me. If I say that's a deal, and I have to trust them now, you don't.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Because But the reality is, Nick, that Kia needs to listen to the advice he gave. I mean, look, I'm not making this personal, but the idea of choosing a candidate who is an arch remainer to fight for a seat in Hartleypool, I voted 70% leave, is just an indication of metropolitan elitism. We said, as indeed I said from 2017 to 2019, this idea of us becoming a Remain Party, which Kia, of course, was at the forefront of, was wrong. We were being told by our people that Labour would suffer. And unfortunately, the leadership of the party at the time didn't listen. And we suffered badly from that.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The forefront of that, of course, and so should we. We should now be linking with these clubs, with these fans in order to generate real change.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I agree, I'm a member of the spirits of Shankley, which is the supporters club in Liverpool, a group of ordinary working class people who demand dances from the owners, get the kind of respect that they deserve, and have a clear community vision. I actually think something good will come out of this. If we look at the German model where the fans own the clubs, I've got a feeling that that could get some momentum and I hope that just because these top six clubs have moved away and said, okay, we're sorry. I hope that's not the end of it. I hope the supporters, fans who protest, continue to work together now to demand legislation in order to stop this happening again and give ordinary people, ordinary fans control of their clubs. And we will certainly as a union be part of that.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Actually, run and organise. There's no doubt on this recent development has been extraordinary. The amounts of anger. I mean, I sometimes wish the same anger could be directed against governments that have cut the National Health Service and are not doing enough. But nevertheless, it's an indication that people rejected this overpowering, faceless capitalism that controls this wonderful game of ours.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The reality is all he ever wants to do is attack if it's not Jeremy Cobb and it's me and Unite. It's a fantastic facility and it's something that I'm very proud of. It will save our union considerable sums of money. Let me finish on this point. It was only Unite that is able to build something of that nature because in the 10 years that I've been General Secretary, the wealth of our union has gone from £50 million 10 years ago to £500 million. People are worried about Use no we give the biggest strike pay in the whole of Europe.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Unknown whatsoever, you'd have to see it. Our executive Niku and their powerful group of independent individuals, 63 of them, voted unanimously to accept and endorse the report.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of independent investigation. That's smeaters and innunds. They are Labour MPs. I'm going to invite you. I'm going to invite you to come to the opening of our centre. It's fantastic. It's money well spent. It will save millions of pounds for our union over the coming years.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I would have loved to have been General Secretary with the Labour government. It would have been nice to wake up and not having to face the constant attacks from a government that I actually believe doesn't want to help ordinary workers.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's just not true. Unionising news. But that isn't true, Nick. It isn't true. The reality is, of course, our members are the ones who pay their union dues and therefore require a service. But the amount of money that we spend in terms of trying to organise...”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We put our efforts into trade unions. I mean, this image that I, for example, spend too much time in the political arena is nonsense. I spend 90% of my time dealing with industry, dealing with CEOs, dealing with members, dealing with all kinds of investment issues. But of course, that's...”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“This COVID pandemic where people have seen that the only people defending workers during this whole period is trade unions.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Reaching people, of course. If we had fairness in our society, there would be millions and millions of workers who would join a union tomorrow. So what blocked them? But their fear. The fear that they have as to what that would mean in their jobs. We have a litany of evidence of people being sacked, got rid of, demoted, not promoted because they have trade union views. And that is Britain in the 21st century. It's quite disgraceful. We have precarious work everywhere. Millions of people not covered by a proper contract. It makes it difficult for trade unions. But let me quickly make this point, Nick. Trade unions are as relevant as ever. In all our major sectors of the economy, the density of trade unions is very high, 60, 70, 80% higher. So we are still relevant. And of course, we've just had...”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, the type of industries we're talking about, obviously the rapid decline in our traditional industries meant a rapid decline of union membership, the new so-called sunrise industries. It became more difficult to organize. And the most important word I've ever come across in my time is relevance. You have to be relevant to working people. If trade unions are not relevant to you, why would you join them?”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's a fair point, and I think it's an issue that Labour and the left, the left, not just Kia's problem, but the left have to deal with. Of course we have to reflect. It's why I'm saying to you that organised labour is so important. There are people on the right of our party, maybe Peter Mandelson's one of them, who would like to ditch the trade unions. We are the authentic voice of working people. You mentioned my city, Liverpool, my proud, proud Liverpool city. It's as red as you can get it. Now, that's because people in Liverpool see Labour as being on their side, as fighting for them, black or white, male or female. The reality is that you have to be on people's sides. And it's the trade unions. Well, let's talk about the trade unions.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of course I was. And I said to the Labour Party that we have to recognise the concerns. And one of the weaknesses on the left of our movement is a fear that if we start talking about immigration and migrant workers, that we play into the hands of the right wing and we really shouldn't talk about it. I reject that. I say that if we don't deal with the concerns that are raised, we leave a vacuum for the ultra-right. And so I argued, and by the way, Jeremy Corbyn listened. What all that we needed was labor market regulations to stop the abuses by greedy bosses because migrant workers are responsible for no issues, nothing. Greedy, greedy bosses.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, and let me put into context because I've never blamed migrant workers for anything. I consistently pointed out that the greedy bosses were the ones to blame. These are the individuals who use migrant labour to be brought in to undercut paying conditions. There's no doubt about that. I live with it. I live with it every single month. The point is you were listening.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“European Social Democratic Party and dismiss the idea of socialism and that's not what the Labour Party was created for you talk about the funny”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You're asking me, Nick, not Jeremy or Tony. I'm hearing you. It's about making the point in relation to Peter Mandelson. Because the truth of the matter is what Peter and Tony Blair, remember Tony Blair was someone who turned around and said, I would sooner labor lose a general election than Jeremy Corbyn be the Prime Minister. Outrageous, but he said it. What Peter and Tony want us to do? They want to turn the Labour Party into an American style democratic party.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I tell you what I learned from it. In our generation, my generation, there have been two outstanding politicians, Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn. And the public knew what their vision was and what they stood for. Tony Blair touched the pulse of the British electorate because they listened to him. He had a vision and as a result was highly successful. Corbyn did the same. People knew what he stood for. He had a vision and came within touch and distance of power.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, the reality, of course, when you're talking about young people, the one person that drew hundreds of thousands of people to the Labour Party was Jeremy Corbyn. So let's put that in its right context. Let's talk about Scotland because it's a great example. Here you have a nation that was solidly labour, was taken for granted. And what effectively happened was labour lost and still hasn't got it backed, by the way. It's radical edge in Scotland. And as a result, Scottish working people moved away from it because they suddenly had what they perceived as a more radical alternative.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Corbyn comes back. The reality is this is a divergence, and we need to get rid of this nonsense, get Jeremy back, reach out to the left, reach out to organised Labour, let's come together as a united party and tell people what we stand for”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He's apologizing, Nick. He's apologized. Nick, I was part of a deal where I was told by Kia and his team, if Jeremy issues this statement, a joint statement that they agreed to, he'll be back in the party. He's apologized.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Radical program absolutely. Remember a united party is essential. Kieya, when he became leader a year ago, said one of the most important things he wanted to do was unite the party. Unfortunately, for the past six to nine months, he's done the opposite. He's pushed the left further into the wings. He's virtually sacked our leader, Jeremy Corbyn, highly popular individual amongst the party. We're losing tens of thousands of members. He has to reset, bring Jeremy back, reach out to the left. That's my message to Kia. Reach out, get a united party again. Let's tell the people who we are, what we stand for.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“They might have been popular, but people said, We don't believe that they can actually deliver them, so it's the credibility of knitting together what is popular and what people want. We did it in 2017 and Kia has to reset the button so that he can develop a credible alternative.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But Nick, if I keep going back to 2017, you'll have to forgive me because that's exactly what happened. We went out to ordinary people and we talked about their aspirations. We talked about their problems and their concerns for themselves and their children, precarious work, homelessness, the fact that their kids couldn't get homes. We talked about all of that and we offered, and here's the critical word that the media always talk about, a credible alternative. You see, you can have policies, you can have a string of policies that are popular, but if there's no credible link that people think you can deliver, for example, in 2019, we had a mass of policies, desperate to try and cover the Brexit mess we got ourselves in. And people looked at all those policies.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, it's important to kind of analyze how people have moved away from labor. And therein lies the $64,000 question. Why do people believe that labour no longer represents them? Historically, they've always felt labour represented them. Why now do they feel that Labour has abandoned them? 2019 was undoubtedly because of Brexit. They felt that labour had not listened to their views in 2016. And there was a strong element of truth. And unfortunately, the Labour Party made an absolute mess of the 2019 election. But the real key here is the policies and the program that was put forward in 2017 were all individual policies that when pollsters asked people were incredibly”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But it's far more complicated and far more sophisticated than that when we say same old Tories, it's effectively because for generations and generations, the Conservative Party represents big business and doesn't represent the views and values and aspirations of ordinary people. It's why inequality in our society has grown. And it's why ordinary working people seek an alternative. It's why when Corbyn emerged on the scene in 2017, they suddenly seen something different. They seen an individual who gave them hope, hope of a better brick.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Nick, that might be the metropolitan elite, but you're talking to organised Labour. These are our people. When you say we don't like them, there are people. They're my community. Where I come from, they're who I represent. It's why organized labour is so incredibly important to the Labour Party. Trade unions are the big society. Trade unions are the people who live and work.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Oh, it was Corbyn's policies. I say one thing to them. The Conservative Party gained 44% and won a landslide victory on one issue. Get Brexit done. That's all they said. And that's precisely why our so-called Red Wall seats, many of whom voted heavily like Hartlepool, to leave, switched away from Labor.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, and we tried it in 2017 and came within touching distance of power. In fact, 2017 is really the election that people should study and look at very closely, despite the outrageous attacks by the media against Corbyn, which were constant day in, day out for two years, despite the betrayal of the parliamentary Labour Party and the right wing of the party stabbing him in the back. He defied all of that and took us very, very close to power. And what it showed was that radical alternative policies are popular amongst ordinary working people. Now, the right wing and the media, desperate to get rid of the idea of Corbynism, point to 2019. But you and I, serious people know the 2019 was about Brexit, one issue only. And those people who tried to say...”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He wanted by a landslide on a radical program telling people that he was going to take the message to working people that Labour was on their side and could give them a better future for themselves and for their children.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, a terrible result, and I hope Kia learns the correct lesson from this. You know, he was elected a year ago on a radical program, some said a Corbinesque program. He said he wanted to make the moral case for socialism. He wanted a united party. And unfortunately, he's failed in all of those areas because we're now in a situation, and Hartlepool is the manifestation of it, where people don't know what his vision is. People don't know what labor stand for anymore. And if people don't know what the alternative to the status quo is, then they'll either not vote in a considerable number of voters didn't vote, or they'll stick with what they've got. And Kia has to press the reset button. He has to go back to how he won the leadership of the party.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I'm always optimistic, Nick, and I remember saying to Kia Starmer a year ago that he could be the next Prime Minister. I was convinced of that then, and I don't think it's too late now, not by winning an overall majority, but simply by winning back our so-called red wall seats. And I explained to him where I thought he should do to achieve that. Unfortunately, he hasn't listened, and we can talk about that a little later. But no, I don't regard labour as dead. I regard the Labour Party as the only party that can speak for ordinary working men and women and give us a better, fairer, more just and equitable society.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, not really. I mean, obviously 10 and a half years leading my union, great privilege for me, and they've been tensuous years. Lots of ups and lots of downs. And we've had to struggle against all kinds of issues, recession, the financial collapse in 2008, and then the continued decline of manufacturing. And of course, in the political arena, unfortunately, I've been General Secretary under conservative and conservative coalition governments, which hasn't been easy. But I'm pretty proud of the fact that Unit has emerged as a powerful voice for working people. And that's really my job to try and influence and to try and influence our party, the Labour Party, but more than anything to fight for working people and to fight for fairness and justice.”
2021-05-07 · Political Thinking with Nick Robinson · The Len McCluskey Election Special One · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source