LONDON: The leader of Brita-in’s opposition said yesterday that he wanted to ‘mend, not end’ Labour’s links to trade unions in a bid to limit the damage from a row over outside influence.
Two years ahead of an election, the row has put the Labour party and Ed Miliband under pressure and handed some political momentum back to the ruling Conservative Party, which has been struggling with its own divisions and flagging in opinion polls.
Britain’s biggest union, Unite, has been accused of hijacking the selection of a candidate to contest a parliamentary seat in the Scottish town of Falkirk to boost its influence in government. Unite said it operated within Labour’s rules.
“The events we have seen in Falkirk have betrayed the values of our party,” Miliband wrote in the Observer paper, while stressing that “ordinary working people” were an asset to Labour and that links to the unions would remain. “We should mend the relationship, not end it,” he said. On Friday, Labour said it had handed evidence to police investigators supporting allegations of malpractice at Falkirk.
The incident has put Labour’s long-standing links with unions, who are the party’s biggest source of funding, in the spotlight and on Thursday prompted Miliband’s election coordinator, Tom Watson, to resign that position.
“It is at heart an ideological battle, a political battle between those who want to take Labour back to the 70s and 80s... and those like Ed Miliband who want to see us move increasingly towards an open party,” said former Labour Cabinet minister John Reid in an interview with the BBC.
The row has galvanised the Conservative party which, only weeks ago, had looked weakened by disagreements on Britain’s membership of the European Union. A vote on the EU on Friday won overwhelming Conservative support.
Reuters
