Although I voted for David Miliband, I welcome Ed’s attempts to reform the relationship with the unions. If you wanted evidence that reform is required, then you don’t need to go much further than the union leaders’ own utterances.
Len McCluskey, the new general secretary of Unite, warned Mr Miliband not to weaken the unions’ influence. “If anybody is attempting to sever the link with the unions, we will oppose that. This is our party,” he told Tribune newspaper. “What Ed needs to understand is that the trade union movement created the Labour Party. If there are people who just see us as a cash cow, the dotty aunt and uncle who are… just brought out to sign cheques, then that’s not going to happen. We want to make certain that our views and beliefs are listened to.”
Or the things they say to Kinnock:
“A trade union delegate leaned over and said ‘Neil, we’ve got our party back‘. I thought that was so accurate as an instantaneous response to the leader’s speech.”
There is no place in a modern democratic party, as the Labour Party has to become, for such an influence. They should join the party if they wish to be members. In any case, if we are to forever hark back to ancient history in the Labour Party, we ought to give the Methodist Church a role in the Labour Party as well.
