GMB Northern regional secretary Kevin Curran was last night poised to replace veteran John Edmonds as leader of one of the country's biggest unions.
Mr Curran, 48, is expected to be announced later today as the victor in the race to become the GMB's general secretary when Mr Edmonds steps down in June.
About 700,000 GMB members have been voting in a postal ballot in which Mr Curran has been pitted against London regional secretary Paul Kenny.
Last night, Paul Barnsley, a spokesman for Mr Curran, who will hold a press conference in Newcastle today, said: "We are quietly confident but we are taking absolutely nothing for granted. Should he win, it will be a victory for working people in the North-East."
Mr Curran, a welder in the engineering construction industry, has led a number of campaigns on behalf of the GMB on issues such as asbestos, low pay and the privatisation of public services.
Following his appointment as regional GMB secretary in 1997 he established the North- East Maritime Group (NEMG) to campaign and revitalise the shipbuilding and ship repair industry in the North-East.
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