Union leader at risk of being ousted from job amid surge of Reform UK in the polls

The leader of one of Britain's largest unions is at risk of being removed from his role following Reform UK's surge in the polls.

Sharon Graham, Unite's General Secretary, has been slated with accusations that she is insufficiently acting to counter the scaling success of Nigel Farage's party.

Last week, Ms Graham launched a scathing attack on Ed Miliband, warning Andy Burnham against hiring the Energy Secretary as his Chancellor if the Makerfield MP becomes Prime Minister.

She warned that Mr Miliband, along with his commitment to his Net Zero agenda, would be a "noose around the neck" for job growth.

But critics warned that Ms Graham's damning takedown of Mr Miliband, alongside her support for drilling in the North Sea, could let the union buckle underneath Reform UK.

One union insider told The Guardian: "(Sharon Graham's) interventions are boosting Farage and his crypto backers.

"And her attack on Ed played right into the hands of the Labour right."

As a result, international director of Unite, Simon Dubbins, is gearing up to announce a leadership challenge against Ms Graham as soon as today.

The union boss added the organisation had a "unique responsibility to heal divisions, win workers back from the false promises of Farage, and ultimately stop a Reform Government".

"Our campaign for a new start for our union has won overwhelming backing from our organised membership in half the usual time," he said.

"Members are tired of old divisions and frustrated with a leadership more obsessed with playing political games than stopping job losses and the attacks we face."

Ms Graham has repeatedly taken aim at Sir Keir Starmer. In her role, she has overseen Unite's distancing from its close historic alliance with Labour.

In March, she took to GB News to slam the party for dragging its feet on supporting Birmingham's bin workers in their long-running dispute over proposed pay cuts and the scrapping of Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (WRCO) roles.

The group, historically one of Labour's largest donors, subsequently cut its affiliation fee by 40 per cent, reducing funds from £1.45million to £870,000, a move which the union said "shows the anger of Unite members".

Ms Graham questioned whether Labour truly represented the working classes across the nation and did not outright rule out support for Reform UK at the time.

However, when Mr Farage offered up the opportunity to speak at Reform UK's Autumn Conference in September with an open invitation, Ms Graham declined.

The party's chief said: "If you represent working people in this country, my door is open."

But Ms Graham turned up her nose at the offer, claiming that Reform had "shown absolutely no evidence that they are friends of workers".

"What needs to happen now is for the Labour Party to stop dithering and be the voice of workers," she declared.

But her condemnation did not knock Mr Farage's interest in engaging with the unions.

Admitting they might encounter "disagreements", the Clacton MP assured the organisations they would be able to find some common ground.