Now that Ed Miliband is gearing up to reform the Union Labour link, considerable pressure is being applied to reverse the current opt out arrangements:
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/07/why-miliband-should-support-opt-system-trade-union-donations
This would be a serious mistake and betrays a serious ignorance of labour movement history:
'In 1927, in the immediate aftermath of the defeat of the General Strike, the Conservative government under Stanley Baldwin turned the requirement around to individual members having to actively opt in to paying the political levy, and apathy cut the combined union political fund by around 50%. In response, one of the first acts of the Labour government of 1945 was to restore opting out.'
http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-05.html
