Jerry Hicks ‘Unite behind John McDonnell’

‘Unite behind John McDonnell’

Jerry Hicks a candidate in the election for the General Secretary of Unite, Britain's biggest union, today urged Labour MPs to nominate John McDonnell MP to be the new Leader of the Labour Party.

Jerry Hicks said "I welcome John McDonnell's commitment to a leadership debate based on the policies. I applaud John McDonnell's long-standing support for workers' rights, the trade unions and repealing the anti-trade union laws; a peaceful foreign policy, bringing our troops home, publicly owned services, progressive taxation, an emergency council housing programme, a living wage and civil liberties.

I also welcome his determination that working people must not be made to pay for a crisis that is not of their making. He is the perfect alternative to the David and Ed the ‘Moribund’ brothers and the other candidates from Continuity New Labour. He also offers a genuine alternative to the Cameron-Clegg Government ."

Jerry Hicks believes that John McDonnell is exceptional in that he has support that reaches far beyond that of the Labour Party itself. Who would not now agree that had he [McDonnell] been on the ballot paper last time around enabling discussion and debate on the real issues instead of the Brown coronation, that the Labour Party would have been more electable and maybe still have been the government not the opposition.

Jerry Hicks, though not a Labour Party member, hopes that the Labour Party fields the widest number of candidates so that its members can make an informed choice and thereby re-establish itself to benefit ordinary people.

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Notes to editors:

Jerry Hicks will be standing later this year for the position of single General Secretary of Unite, the UK's largest trade union and biggest single donator to the Labour party. He is considered by many as the possible winner. In last year’s election for joint General Secretary he (Jerry Hicks) came second to Derek Simpson, Mr Simpson will not be standing this time.