Bill Sirs was instrumental in establishing the St Ermin’s group of trade union leaders, which helped defeat Tony Benn’s attempt to unseat Denis Healey as deputy leader of the Labour party and turn around its national executive (NEC) from a hard-left to a leader-supporting, moderate body.
He played a key role in the 1982 NEC elections, when he used his union votes to make the first big shift to the moderates. He later also spoke out on behalf of moderate trade unionists, to help ensure the party returned to electability and to government – without which he knew his members would suffer.
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