Martin Vander Weyer: Arise, Sir Jim, the hero of the Grangemouth affair

You know my theory that Unite leader ‘Red Len’ McCluskey is a Conservative secret agent? Well, having watched events at Grangemouth last week, I’m convinced his Scottish comrades Pat Rafferty, Unite’s Scottish secretary, and Stevie Deans, chair of Falkirk Labour as well as Unite’s Grangemouth convenor, are part of the same subversive cell.

Having called an overtime ban over alleged ‘victimisation’ of Deans, they escalated the dispute until Grangemouth’s owner — the Swiss-based conglomerate Ineos — threatened to close the plant. Last Wednesday, having finally understood Ineos was serious, and with Alex Salmond panicking over the potential loss of Scotland’s biggest industrial asset, the Unite men capitulated, committing the workforce to a wage freeze, a cut in pension rights and a no-strike agreement. It’s hard to imagine how they could have done more harm to their members’ cause, or Labour’s in Scotland. With more to come on the Falkirk scandal, no wonder Deans has resigned his Grangemouth post.