Unite leadership contest: What's behind Howard Beckett's exit from race?
- Published
Howard Beckett is backing former rival Steve Turner
Howard Beckett - who has dropped out of the contest to replace Len McCluskey as Unite general secretary - has been one of Sir Keir Starmer's most outspoken critics.
He has called for Sir Keir to step down as Labour leader and is himself suspended from the party over a controversial tweet about Priti Patel.
So the Labour leadership will be relieved the Unite assistant general secretary is out of the running.
But Mr Beckett was also under huge pressure to step aside from many on the Left - not least Mr McCluskey.
The outgoing Unite boss hosted a series of "behind-closed-doors" negotiations with the three Left candidates - Steve Turner, Sharon Graham and Mr Beckett.
He believed a "split vote" on the Left would give his former opponent for the top Unite post, Gerard Coyne a much better chance of victory.
Mr Coyne is not only more supportive of Sir Keir, he has also called for more transparency in the union and his election would mark a major break with its recent past.
Sharon Graham refused to give way and said she was getting support from across the political spectrum - but pressure increased on Mr Beckett to withdraw to narrow the field.
I'm told he was keen to avoid the accusation that he would help hand control of the union to the Right if he stood.
So he entered direct negotiations with Steve Turner this week.
Over the past week, deadline after deadline for concluding the talks passed - but finally finished on Friday morning despite some of Mr Beckett's supporters urging him to fight against the union "machine" and stay on the ballot.
In the end, he was offered what an insider called "Beckettism without Beckett" - including plans for a trade union television station, and an "independent political voice", to allow criticism of Sir Keir to continue.
There were less publicised offers to give more power to regions that had backed Mr Beckett.
But the arrangement has allowed the Coyne camp to say that if members vote for Mr Turner they will "get Mr Beckett" - and that only he will change the union's direction after years of its support for Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.