Unite challenger stands down

Laurence Faircloth, South West regional secretary of the Unite general union’s Amicus section, pulled out of the election for joint general secretary of Unite last month.

Meanwhile Kevin Coyne, now seen as the most serious challenger to current incumbent Derek Simpson, has said he is taking a complaint against Simpson to the government’s certification officer. He alleges that Simpson used union resources to send an election campaign letter to Unite members — which would be a breach of Amicus rules. The union denied the document was a campaign letter and said that before it was sent out it had been seen by an independent commissioner who had rejected Coyne’s complaint.

Ballot papers went out last month and the ballot closes on 6 March.