Tim Roache abruptly quits as GMB union general secretary
1 min read
Tim Roache has unexpectedly resigned as general secretary of the GMB union, just a year into his second term.
The Labour-supporting union said its long-standing general secretary, who has been in post since 2015 and was re-elected in 2019, had stepped down after “suffering with ill health for some time”.
In a statement, GMB said: “Today, our General Secretary, Tim Roache has submitted his resignation.
“Tim has unfortunately been suffering with ill health for some time now and has made the difficult decision to stand down from his role, that he does not feel able to continue, in leading our union going forward.”
The union said a meeting of its finance and general purposes committee - which oversees leadership elections - would be called to discuss the resignation, and promised “further updates will follow”.
PoliticsHome understands that Mr Roache resigned at around 4pm on Tuesday as head of the union, which boasts 620,000 members and is affiliated to the Labour Party.
The GMB threw its weight behind Lisa Nandy in this year’s race to be Labour leader.
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