UNISON Backs Corbyn For Labour Leadership

UNISON has announced it will be backing the anti-austerity candidate Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership.

And in a blow for Andy Burnham, who emerged early on in the leadership race as a union favourite and frontrunner, the trade union has tipped Yvette Cooper as its second choice.

It comes after a second poll suggested a significant lead for the veteran Islington North MP , putting him 20 points ahead of Ms Cooper.

UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: "Jeremy Corbyn's message has resonated with public sector workers who have suffered years of pay freezes, redundancies with too many having to work more for less.

"They have been penalised for too long by a Government that keeps on taking more and more from them. Their choice shows a clear need for change towards a fairer society where work is fairly rewarded, and where those living and working in poverty supported."

The union, which has 1.3m members, stressed its nomination was simply a recommendation and individual members should vote for whoever they thought would be best to lead the party. So far 15,000 are registered to vote.

:: Who Is Jeremy Corbyn?

:: Who Is Yvette Cooper?

:: Who Is Andy Burnham?

:: Who Is Liz Kendall?

Earlier this month Unite, the country's biggest union and Labour's biggest financial donor, announced it would be backing Mr Corbyn, with Mr Burnham as second preference.

Leaders of the GMB have saidd they will make no recommendation on who their members should vote for.

"Following consultations there was no clear consensus for a recommendation for any one candidate for leader and therefore GMB will be making no recommendation in that election," a spokesman said.

Private polling, reported by The Daily Mirror on Wednesday, suggested Mr Corbyn would top the ballot of first preferences with 42% of votes, compared with Ms Cooper on 22.6%, Mr Burnham on 20% and Liz Kendall on 14%.

After second preferences are distributed, his lead narrows to 51% compared with Ms Cooper on 49%.

Ms Cooper said voting for Jeremy Corbyn would be "condemning our world to a Tory future" and said that Labour must not return "to the 1980s and just be a protest movement".

Mr Burnham said that the poll should be taken "with a large pinch of salt" and told members they faced a "big choice" about "whether it is going to get straight back on a path towards government ... or whether we are going to be a party of protest."

A spokesman for Ms Kendall said: "A poll is something done by a recognised company with data published for all to see.

"This isn't a poll, it's just spin, and rather desperate stuff at that."