Unions ‘conspired to stop David Miliband’
By Ian Dunt
Britain’s main trade unions conspired to stop David Miliband becoming leader of the Labour party, according to media reports.
The Sun newspaper suggested the leaders of GMB, Unite, Unison and the CWU held secret talks in London in the aftermath of the election when they discussed who to back to stop his campaign.
The choice came down to Ed Balls or Ed Miliband, the paper suggested.
In the end, union support went overwhelmingly to Ed Miliband, boosting his leadership campaign.
Unions have denied the report and Ed Miliband’s campaign insisted he had done no deals with the unions.
The right-wing press has reacted with alarm at the prospect of Ed Miliband securing the leadership, with the Sun and the Mail already referring to the shadow energy secretary as ‘Red Ed’ in an attempt to associate him with the ‘Bennite’ far left.
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