THE head of the country’s biggest workers union has spoken openly and frankly about a range of issues including Trump, Brexit and the Labour leadership.

Len McCluskey has also shared big plans to fight the government for a better future for Cumbria, should he be re-elected as general secretary of Unite the union later this year.

Not only does he want to fight the fact that 25 per cent of the country’s defence budget will be spent in the US by 2020, instead of funding new UK jobs, he is pushing the prime minister to set up an industrial strategy that includes bringing companies from the defence supply chain to Cumbria to generate a thriving and positive economy.

During a visit to the Barrow shipyard yesterday Mr McCluskey was pleased to find BAE employees appearing relaxed after the summer’s Trident renewal vote, which he criticised the Conservative government for using as an opportunity to score political points.

He said: “I wanted to come and demonstrate to the membership that they have my personal support and the continued support of Unite, and that doesn’t change whatever government may be in power in the coming years. Jobs and community are the most important thing that drives us forward.”

Mr McCluskey firmly underlined this message when asked about the recent row relating to Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on proposals for a new nuclear power plant at Moorside. Cumbria Conservatives lashed out at Mr Corbyn for failing to openly endorse the plans during a recent appearance on The Andrew Marr Show.

Mr McCluskey, who was influential in securing a free vote for Labour MPs in the Trident renewal debate, said: “Jeremy has strongly-held views, that he’s had all his life, and that’s a reality. But Unite’s position is completely different.

“We are driven by the passionate belief of creating and defending jobs, defending and supporting communities where our members live. We want future developments, including in Cumbria, so we will continue with that policy irrespective of who the leader of the Labour party is.”

Mr McCluskey will share this message with the west of the county, including Sellafield workers, during a visit to Copeland on Monday January 30.

Asked about the ongoing dispute about government plans to save £660 million and reform nuclear industry pensions, he said: “It is outrageous. These workers do an unbelievably important job which impacts generations of this country and what’s being done is plain wrong.

“It’s disgraceful, it’s unfair and it’s unjust and we will fight it with every fibre in our bones.”

Part of the reason Mr McCluskey is standing for re-election, to continue in a role that would place him at the heart of these battles, is in reaction to huge national and global changes.

Discussing Brexit, he said the union was carefully balancing the needs of manufacturing companies and employees who fear a future outside the single market while representing those whose jobs have been devalued by the mass use of migrant workers. The solution, he said, is not to leave the single market in a bid to restrict freedom of movement but to insist upon trade union agreements and conditions for all employers. He believes this would stop “greedy companies” abusing migrant workers as cheap labour, ensuring more balanced recruitment procedures.

Of Mr Trump’s election, Mr McCluskey added: “This was a real rejection of establishment politics, a real rejection of a political elite by people who have been left behind.

“Now, I deplore some of the things that Trump said, of course I do. It worries me. However, we now have to wait and see what his approach will be.

“No one knows how his presidency will unfold, but it will impact on Britain and British workers, so that’s why I’m determined to ensure that I, as a proven and experienced leader of Unite, know how to act and how to defend our aims and interests.”