It is sad to see process overtaking politics in the Labour leadership debate, especially because the campaign had at least contained something about visions and policies and how best to deliver on them.
That is what has engaged the thousands who have turned out to hear Corbyn. Many of them are young and have been enlivened by a political debate on austerity that has been completely missing from the mainstream (except perhaps in Scotland but even there we detect a gradual awakening that SNP rhetoric and policy on that issue are two different things).
Engaging so many people in that debate surely can’t be a bad thing. So has it re-engaged disaffected Labour supporters?
Day 2 of the National UNISON Labour Link Forum in Manchester started with a Parliamentary Panel of MPs and MEPS (see picture). It was inspiring to see three new MPs who come from our movement sitting for the first time alongside longer serving panel members. Former UNISON NEC member, Dave Anderson MP, spoke first about the risk to the union from indiscipline and how we must remain loyal and united to fight off Tory attacks on the union and the cuts.
The UNISON political fund representing members who have decided to affiliate to the Labour Party began its annual forum this morning in Manchester.
The forum was opened by Dave Prentis who promised delegates that as long as he is General Secretary, unison will never walk away from the Labour Party. The unions formed the Labour Party and we need the Party to make a fairer society.
Following the defeat in May and the party leadership elections it was decided to cancel the usual workshops and hold hustings of leadership candidates.
Yesterday's Queen's Speech included proposals to require an opt-in to political funds (rather than the current opt-out) and the Guardian reports that 'trade union officers and the Labour party seemed to have been caught unaware of the reforms'.
No one can say that they were not warned about this scenario as they rushed to endorse the Collins Review which effectively ended collective affiliation to Labour and removed automatic voting rights from union levy payers. In acquiescing to a two tier system whereby levy payers are required to opt-in to affiliate Labour party membership in order to secure voting rights, the pass was sold on opposing the same mechanism for payment of the levy. The consequences were foreseeable and will be disastrous for the Labour party.
UNISON Labour Link Forum took place this year in Bristol earlier this month. This is the national meeting of UNISON delegates from regions and Self Organised Groups who support our constitutional link with the Labour Party via the Labour Link (also known as the APF) political fund.
This is a motion based conference which had some great debates on policy. There was also workshops and a number of high profile speakers including Jon Cruddas MP, Head of Labour's policy review; Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Minister for London Sadiq Khan MP, and our General Secretary, Dave Prentis. There was a UK Parliamentary panel of Labour MPs and a European Parliament panel of MEPs.
As expected the Labour Party's Collins Review was endorsed at yesterday's special conference without an amendment in sight. It is certain that by 2020 union influence in the Labour Party will be much diminished but the review impacts on UNISON differently than all other affiliated unions. In his report Collins says that 'UNISON has offered its levy-paying members this sort of choice for some time, and its members who choose to pay into the affiliated section of that union's political fund have already consented to the payment of affiliation fees'. Therefore UNISON can continue to pay Labour £3 per year for the 400,000 APF levy payers (including those who joined before merger in 1993) - so unlike all other unions the requirement for UNISON members to 'opt in' within five years does not apply (decisions by GMB and Unite to commence large scale disaffiliation show the degree of capitulation by those unions to critics of the union link):
http://labourlist.org/2014/02/final-collins-review-document-released-ahead-of-special-conference/
The gradual weakening of Labour’s links with trade unionists provides an opportunity for the Conservative Party to reach out to trade unions according to a
recent article in the Economist magazine.
Ideas being promoted by the pressure group Renewal - which aims to broaden Tory appeal among working class, northern and ethnic minority voters - include free party membership for trade unionists and Tory backed slates in internal union elections. Given the onslaught on trade union and workers’ rights waged by both current and past Tory Ministers this initiative is about as viable as a Bargain Booze franchise in Saudi Arabia.
One should not imagine that the proposal from the Collins Review, that members of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) are to have their section of the Party's Electoral College removed means a significant reduction in their influence over who the leader of the Labour Party will be. That power remains largely intact due to the fact that the PLP are to retain sole control over leadership nominations, as well as the figure where Collins proposes the threshold is to be set.
Yesterday the Labour Party NEC approved the recommendations of the Collins Review to reform Labour's internal constitution, which will now be put (non amendable) to a two hour long special conference on 1 March 2014. Much has been stated about the 15 affiliated unions retaining a 'collective affiliation' and how this has been the sine qua non for trade union agreement to the changes. But does this claim stand up to scrutiny and will it be credible in the medium term?
http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1012864/building-a-one-nation-labour-party-final-report.pdf
A Guardian exclusive report today provides details of proposed Labour Party constitutional changes arising from the Collins Review. The most significant change relates to party leadership elections with the scrapping of the electoral college (which disproportionately empowers MPs) and the introduction of one member one vote (OMOV) which will include equal voting rights for trade union levy payers who sign up for £3 per year associate membership of Labour. Associate members will have a direct relationship with the party rather than via affiliated unions. Unions will continue to have a collective presence at Labour Party conference (and retain 50% of the 'vote') as well as on the NEC. Those political fund levy payers who opt in to making a contribution to Labour will be able to do so but will have no democratic rights of participation (unless a full or associate member).
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jan/31/ed-miliband-labour-trade-union-reforms
As the Collins Review of Labour's internal constitution edges towards its anti-climax at a two hour special conference on 1 March, speculation increases that future trade union affiliation (funding and voting) will be based on £3 per year 'associate membership' thus closing off millions of trade unionists from paying a political levy to Labour.
An interesting report in today’s Guardian that the Collins review is likely to recommend a political fund model similar to UNISON’s whereby union members choose between an affiliated and non affiliated political fund contribution from their union membership subscription. The UNISON system has operated robustly for 20 years with remarkably only 13,560 members opting to exempt themselves from contributing to the political fund in contrast with Unite where 169,292 opt out of paying the political levy to Labour. Of course, constitutional formulas aside, a far bigger question for the future is how levy paying members of affiliated unions exercise our political influence in the Labour Party.
All Labour Party organisations have been invited to make submissions by 24 December 2013 to the Lord Collins led review 'Building a One Nation Labour Party' which is examining the relationship of the Party and affilated organisations and other secondary constitutional issues. The Defend the Link Campaign has published a useful summary of model responses to the review with the aim of increasing individual membership and participation of trade unionists in the Labour Party without weakening the collective affiliation of millions workers via their trade unions.
#lab13 Paul Kenny of the GMB and chair of TULO spoke on behalf of all Labour’s affiliated unions in Sunday’s short debate on the interim report of Lord Collins and threw down the gauntlet to those wanting to marginalise unions in the Labour Party: ‘the desire to expand party membership is a shared one but, let nobody be under any illusion that as collective organisations the removal or sale of our collective voice is not on the agenda.’
#lab13 With the run up to the General Election underway, the need for a strong set of values to replace the illiberal, reactionary ideology of the Con Dem Government is paramount. As yet the Labour Party has not set out a clear alternative. But trade union votes should not be taken for granted. Some of us have been here before, being told not to 'rock the boat.'
#TUC13 Only 15 of the 54 unions which make up the TUC are affiliated to the Labour Party. Although they include the largest unions, trade unionists who pay a political levy to Labour make up a declining minority of the 6m workers represented at Congress. The TUC itself has no constitutional relationship with Labour. Yet rather than delivering a unifying pre-election message about ending the pay freeze, abandoning austerity, reversing the drive to privatisation (including Royal Mail), restoring workplace rights and collective bargaining, Ed Miliband chose to re-affirm his catastrophic proposals to end the collective affiliation of unions to the Labour Party: 'I respect those who worry about change. I understand. But I disagree. It is the right thing to do. Change can happen. Change must happen. And I am absolutely determined that this change will happen. It is the only way to build a truly One Nation party so we can build a One Nation country.'
