How a battle for the soul of Amicus became a story of union animus

Not since George Orwell's Ministry of Truth has a political organisation been so inappropriately named. Indeed, those observing the affairs of Amicus, Britain's second largest trade union this week, might feel that Animus is a more fitting label.

Amicus – Latin for friend – could hardly apply to a union that operates as a one-party state and has been destabilised by a ballot-rigging scandal and rocked by some of the most bizarre electoral shenanigans in the history of the labour movement.

Last night, the union was tearing itself apart over a demand from Sir Ken Jackson that the election for the post of joint general secretary should be rerun, following a fourth recount of votes, and confirmation of his shock defeat by Derek Simpson, a former Communist.

Sir Ken justified his demand on the grounds that The Independent had interfered with the original election by reporting attempts to rig the nomination process.

Meanwhile, a bewildered Mr Simpson was struggling to cope with the sudden surge of media attention his victory prompted.

It had been a different story on Monday, when many among the political classes were still wont to ask "Derek who?".

On Wednesday, Mr Simpson was seen relaxing on the terrace of the House of Commons with MPs and political columnists queuing up to ingratiate themselves. By yesterday afternoon, he was conducting a tour of television studios. Suddenly he was box office.

It is difficult to exaggerate the political impact on New Labour of yesterday's delayed announcement that Sir Ken, the Prime Minister's most loyal union ally, had lost his job to Mr Simpson – a previously unknown left-winger from Sheffield.

Downing Street apparatchiks were appalled. Sir Ken was the only senior trade unionist Mr Blair could rely on in a party still umbilically linked to unions. He was, in effect, one of Tony Blair's representatives on earth. When New Labour needed to keep the great unwashed of Old Labour at bay, aides at Number 10 would pick up the phone to Sir Ken. He would deliver the votes for the favoured candidate, for the preferred policy – or he could be relied upon to do his damnedest.

Mr Blair would prefer the electorate did not know, but unions are still the biggest single sources of Labour Party funds, still command half the votes at the annual conference and still wield a considerable influence over policy. Sir Ken was a highly-valued fixer.

Mr Simpson's victory leaves the Prime Minister relatively friendless in the union movement and it could resurrect calls from the outer reaches of New Labour for the federal nature of the party to be scrapped.

Whereas Sir Ken was supportive of present employment legislation, Mr Simpson will seek reforms, while Sir Ken gave a fair wind to the public-private partnerships favoured by the Government, Mr Simpson will oppose them. Sir Ken, a Lancastrian, and Mr Simpson, from Yorkshire, are very different beasts. Both came from humble origins, although Sir Ken has been in senior union positions for a decade or more.

Sir Ken has relied on personal patronage, guile, and occasionally, ruthlessness. The left-winger seems an altogether more thoughtful character and someone who will inevitably have difficulty in making the transition from local union official to national figure.

Mr Simpson's links with the union movement began after he left his Sheffield school at 15 to work as an apprentice in a local engineering firm.

At 57, Simpson has been a member of the Labour Party for the past 10 years but was formerly a member of the Communist Party and has pointed out that he is no Blairite.

"I'm not saying I will fall out with Blair or the Labour Party – but I am not going to be a blind supporter either," he has said.

Mr Simpson will need more than high quality arguments to survive in a union known for its bare-knuckle approach to internal politics.

For a start, he will have to deal with an executive stuffed full of supporters of the defeated general secretary. It is an extremely powerful committee that could veto any Simpson reforms it found unpalatable. The best the left-winger could hope for is a fragile modus vivendi.

And, if he manages pragmatic compromise with the executive, he will also have to ensure the co-operation of an overwhelmingly male and middle-aged officer corps – shaven-headed, single-minded and beholden to Sir Ken for jobs.

He will have to deal with an authoritarian sub-culture, built around the hegemony of the dominant right-wing grouping. It is a faction much-practised in the techniques of political suppression. Ironically, it was an approach borrowed from Mr Simpson's former comrades in the Communist Party who rigged successive elections during the 1970s in the electricians union, a forerunner of Amicus. Some of the old Communists switched to the right-wing faction taking a number of their disreputable habits with them.

The so-called United right-wing group encourages its members to name suspected left-wingers in the union so that they can be "leant on". At annual conferences, officers of United sit outside left-wing meetings taking the names of those who attend.

Right-wingers admitted attempting to rig the nominating process that preceded the election for the top post. Six full-time officials voted more than once in branch meetings and face disciplinary procedures. Roger Maskell, leader of the union in the South-east area, resigned over allegations that he tried to cover up the scandal.

Mr Simpson will be expected to move in the exalted industrial and political circles populated by the likes of Bill Morris of the Transport and General Workers' Union and John Edmonds of the GMB general union – both skilled practitioners in the black arts of Labour Party politics.

If his victory is confirmed, Mr Simpson is about to embark on a near-vertical learning curve.

He is clearly a man who has a formidable inner core, having encountered daunting opposition from the ruling faction.

Apart from the attempt to rig the ballot, Mr Simpson found that, during the election campaign, his internal e-mails had been blocked by the union's headquarters. He was refused permission to take his annual leave to attend the union's annual conference so he could canvass for support.

In one of the latest issues of the union's journal Sir Ken's face appears a dozen times while there is no mention of his rival.

While all the union's branches were sent a circular announcing Sir Ken's intention to stand in the election, the returning officer refused to give Mr Simpson names and addresses of branch officials so he could announce his candidacy.

The left-winger has risked his job to challenge Sir Ken. Under the union's rules he was forced to hand in his resignation in order to stand. Sir Ken's decision to attempt to hold on to his post despite reaching retirement age has resulted in a lid being lifted on a bizarre and sometimes intimidating world.

If Sir Ken departs the scene, doubtless he will derive satisfaction from his inevitable elevation to the House of Lords by a grateful Prime Minister. However, Sir Ken was hoping to have a few more years at the helm before donning the ermine.

Union leaders on the left

If Derek Simpson's election is confirmed, he will join a list of general secretaries prepared to challenge the Prime Minister are:

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT rail union. He led yesterday's 24-hour strike on London Underground over safety under the proposed public-private partnership. He has also led a series of high-profile stoppages over pay at half a dozen train companies on the national network.

Mick Rix of the train drivers' union Aslef. He has been highly successful in playing train operating companies off against each other in an attempt to drive wages up. He believes the disputes have showed that there should be national pay bargaining in a renationalised rail system.

Billy Hayes of the Communication Workers Union. Mr Hayes has challenged the introduction of competition at the expense of Consignia. He wants the monopoly over letters that the state-owned company holds to be preserved to protect his members' jobs.

Andy Gilchrist of the Fire Brigades Union. Later this year he could be leading a national fire strike – only the second in the history of the union. Mr Gilchrist is demanding a minimum of £30,000 for his members and a new automatic pay mechanism to set wages.