On the conference floor this afternoon (Tuesday), our General Secretary, Dave Prentis called for UNISON Labour Link to suspend “Constituency Development plans”. This is money given for organising and campaigning in local Labour Parties (not to MP's).I believe that this will happen and it will be a blow to the Labour Party.
But I also believe UNISON is still totally committed to supporting the Labour Party.
What I felt that Dave was actually doing was sending the Labour Government an unmistakable message that in order to save itself, it has to change and change radically if we want to win the next election. While a tiny majority may object to UNISON allowing members to affiliate to the Party every one of us should be concerned that despite this affiliation the Party is staring at failure which would let the Tories in. They are and always have been the real enemy.
There is a repositioning going on in the Party at the moment and UNISON wants to wade in with its big guns and capture the moment. Suspending Constituency Development Plans is the opening salvos. With the discrediting of the Blairites there is now an opportunity to force changes through which UNISON believes will save the Party even at this late stage.
The battle over further privatisation and market testing is key. Dave I think wants Labour “to come home” he wants clear “red water” over keys policies so we can go out next year in the General Election, win it and save us from the Tories.
West Ham CLP has a UNISON development plan and I am also the Agent. I'll be having some interesting conversations in the very near future with the CLP Chair and Treasurer I think.
(this is my own personal view and reaction. Not that of Labour Link).
Picture Phil Lewis.
12 comments:
We need to give Labour, our party, a clear message but it will be a big mistake to do a u turn and leave the only party that can achive change!
Nick Venedi
In what Unison may see as good intentioned action, yet again the press have used it as a part of portraying Labour in decline. By reducing donations to the Labour Party will be seen by most as the first step in cutting the link between the union and the party rather than the union flexing its muscle and trying to push the party away from the centre ground. If this union cutting of funds continues the party will then, like the Tories, have to rely heavily on personal donations, and you can see by through the Tories and people like Lord Ashcroft, what happens when a party starts to rely on individuals, is this what Unison want?
Hurrah!!!
I wonder actually if tory protagonists have inflitrated the unions to MAKE the unions even more stupid than they are naturally, seriously, this could even be the case.
Scargill and the NUM held Thatcher to ransom because her party felt little towards public sector workers, thereby allowing unlimited power into the hands of the rich.
Unfortunately, the NUM lost their battle.
On the question of UNISON, why shouldn't they hold the Labour Party to ransom for their £116,000? Their victory should result in a leftwards shift in the party, one that is entirely necessary both for the party and the state of the country.
The party needs to buck up in order to recapture the hearts of the heartlands.
This is about making sure that the link is used wisely. The reason why our movement set up the Labour Party in the first place was to advance our interests in the political sphere and win democratic rights. There's no point in funding those MPs who are not true to the values of our movement and who cannot be relied upon to support us.
Charlie Marks is 100% spot on!
Well you wont have ANYONE to support you if Tories get in, idiotic move!!
Good move by UNISON against New Labour. Stop the cash flow until the party leadership abides by its own constitution: "The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party."
while i support this
we also need to expose the threat of the tories
Ha Ha Mike Law!
Rich comment coming from someone who got selected and elected as a Labour Councillor, drew 30K in Council Allowances and then defected to the Tories, --without having the bottle or face to resign .
Anon 18 June 19:22
I'd already announced at a Labour Party LGC meeting that I wasn't going to stand for council again.
Just to re-hash old news, the reason I crossed the floor was because I could no longer put up with the Wales clique's bullshit.
Remaining on the council gave me a platform to highlight some of the issues I felt needed public attention (Parks Constabulary, Special Responsibility Allowances etc).
Here's my e-mail address:
mikelaw_per@yahoo.co.uk
I'd happily go into this in more detail... if you have the "bottle or face" to communicate with me without snivelling behind an anonymous tag.
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