Incredible Shrinking Man(date)
The BBC has just reported the results of the Unite general secretary election with 129,754 votes cast in total on a low turnout of just 12% of the union's membership.
The voting share of the individual candidates was as follows:
Len McCluskey - 45.5%
Gerard Coyne - 41.3%
Ian Allinson - 13.2%
Now the BBC doesn't say how many ballot papers were actually issued, but if Unite is still claiming 1.5 million members then around only 4% of the total union membership has backed Len McCluskey on a much reduced turnout from the last contest.
Meanwhile McCluskey's closest rival has been suspended which tells its own story.
Len McCluskey 're-elected as Unite general secretary'
BBC UK Politics
Image copyright - PA
Len McCluskey has been re-elected as Unite's general secretary following a bitter leadership battle.
The result will be seen as a boost for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr McCluskey's chief rival Gerard Coyne was seen as the anti-Corbyn candidate and Unite is the party's biggest donor.
Mr Coyne was suspended from his job as a Unite official on Thursday pending an investigation but he remains a member of the union.
The move did not affect the election as counting was already under way.
Mr McCluskey won 59,067 votes, Mr Coyne 53,544 and Ian Allinson 17,143, in a turnout of just over 12%, Unite said.
Len McCluskey has been re-elected as Unite's general secretary following a bitter leadership battle.
The result will be seen as a boost for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr McCluskey's chief rival Gerard Coyne was seen as the anti-Corbyn candidate and Unite is the party's biggest donor.
Mr Coyne was suspended from his job as a Unite official on Thursday pending an investigation but he remains a member of the union.
The move did not affect the election as counting was already under way.
Mr McCluskey won 59,067 votes, Mr Coyne 53,544 and Ian Allinson 17,143, in a turnout of just over 12%, Unite said.
Psst - pass it on! (16/09/11)
Psst, pass it on!
Len McCluskey of Unite has a smaller 'mandate' than Dave Prentis of Unison see post dated 14 September 2011 - People in Glass Houses
Dave has a big whopper of a mandate compared to Len anyway and depending on how you count the votes.
But Dave's 11.2% puts Len's 6.8% completely in the shade and here's a earlier post from November 2010 which explains why.
Now I don't think that size really matters unless people go around making complete dicks of themselves by saying that they've got a bigger mandate than anyone else.
"Election Mandates (24 November 2010)"
Len McCluskey election as the new leader of Unite has prompted lots of Guardian readers to comment on the newspaper's web site.
Most people registering a view are rightly unimpressed at the poor turnout.
Less than 16% of the union's membership participated in the ballot which does raise serious questions about trade union democracy.
If 84% of the electorate cannot be bothered to vote something is clearly wrong and union leaders should do more than just shrug their shoulders and move on.
Some commentators also attack Len McCluskey, on a personal level, which is clearly rather unfair.
Len has still been elected after all he just needs to avoid getting too carried away.
Because any over the top attack on the government and its mandate to govern will sound completely ridiculous.
From a union leader elected with the backing of only 6.8% of Unite's 1.5 million members.
