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When politicians talk of ‘reform’, the klaxons start blaring

Special conferenceWhen any politician starts talking about ‘reform’, the klaxons start blaring as ‘reform’ usually means dilution, erosion or a total dismantling of a system for ideological gain.

Trade Unions are already an honest and transparent movement of mainly ordinary folk who want the voice of working people to be heard loud and clear in the political arena. The recommendations in this draft have the potential to silence the voice of ordinary people and hamstring their representation in Parliament. 

There would be no Labour Party without Trade Unions and they have earned the right to decide their own structure and deserve to be consulted in any ‘reform’ discussion in relation to the Political Party they formed. If Labour want to dictate that relationship whilst taking the money, that money can easily be removed and spent elsewhere.

Ian Hodson is national president of the the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) who will be voting against the Collins report tomorrow

5 Comments

  1. ray davison says:

    Well said Ian Hodson and all affiliates and CLPs should follow you and give this wretched clause 4 moment and its bourgeois advocates the reckoning they and Ed deserve.

  2. David Hide says:

    Agree
    Horsham Labour Party delegate mandated to vote against
    Joined conference call this evening and the very reasonable Sadiq Khan reminded us all that tomorrow is not really a conference but an opportunity for the Labour Party to present a united front to the electorate. If this is really the case should I bother to turn up to vote against?

  3. Robert says:

    Do not forget Unions have decided to go along with this, little wonder labour and the Unions cannot get people to join or stay in.

    Unite and the GMB have made statement they will agree with this and not vote against it two Unions with to much to lose, my leader of the GMB makes a good living from being on Labour’s committees or offering paid advice to Miliband.

    New labour is dead , no it’s not it’s the Progress party and they now run the labour party, only my Union leaders have to much to lose to say anything.

    Next election will be the Tories or the Tory Lite party

  4. Mark1957 says:

    Nothing wrong with this move at all.

    Until Labour and the Unions can stand up and say “One member, one vote” with no qualifying or caveats, then it will always be a bone of contention with the general public.

    Don’t forget, now that this has passed, Labour, in power can now bring in the rule about no single donation to a political party above £5,000.

    This will devastate the “Block vote” of the corporations and mega-rich individuals who presently pay the Tories piper…

  5. David Pavett says:

    Unlike the overwhelming majority of the Labour NEC, who supported the Collins proposals, I would have opposed them. I would have done so not on the grounds of the TU changes which, unlike most on the left, I see as both justifiable and necessary but on the grounds of the proposals for registered supporters with voting rights in Party matters and for US-style primaries.

    It does not help when those wanting to keep the existing relations with the TUs argue that. “Trade Unions are already an honest and transparent movement of mainly ordinary folk who want the voice of working people to be heard loud and clear in the political arena.”

    The naivety of claims like this beggars belief. Trade Unions are institutions, some of them very large ones, with a history, with infighting, with sectional interests and so on.

    And when it comes to honesty I think we should try a little for ourselves. Most trade unionists take no interest at all in the political involvement of their unions. They join unions to protect the jobs and their conditions. Most union members never go to meetings, never read the union journals and have no idea what their unions are doing politically.

    A little honesty would go a long way to avoiding some really absurd claims.

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