+600 Members Worldwide Branches in 40 Countries

Did anybody see this in Monday's Guardian? I'm not sure whether this would
be an attempt to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted.

David

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1599293,00.html

Unions must save Labour

 
Time is running out to rescue the party from the Blairites by making it
democratic once again

Roy Hattersley
Monday October 24, 2005
The Guardian

One concession does not make a policy change. So do not believe that the
agreement on public-service pensions - no more than the acceptance that the
government must honour existing contracts of employment - demonstrates that
Labour is a trade-union party again. Quite the reverse. The prime minister
resents being forced to make a U-turn. His enthusiasm for breaking the link
with what he regards as the primitive past has been increased.

The ultra-Blairites have always been embarrassed by the association with the
unions. Much of what the unions stand for today - solidarity rather than
self-interest and scepticism about the virtues of the unregulated market -
is anathema to New Labour. More unforgivable still, now that the
constituency parties have been emasculated, they represent the only
short-term threat to Tony Blair's unfettered power over the party.

The prime minister's real opinion of the unions was illustrated by his
dismissive reaction to defeat at last month's Labour conference. His
policies, he explained, had been rejected only by the unions. The carefully
massaged constituencies had (just) stood firm. There was a clear implication
that Labour now has a two-tier membership - a legitimate section that
loyally rallies behind the leader and an unreliable faction that has no real
place in the modern party.

Throughout the whole conference week, "sources close to the prime minister"
told anyone who would listen that the leaders of the big trade unions did
not express the views of their members. The discovery that they were working
together to achieve common goals was greeted with the horrified assertion
that such behaviour was too dangerous for the party to tolerate. At least
one cabinet minister, speaking at a fringe meeting, made clear that there
could be no question of a "super-union" being allowed to control more than
30% of Labour's conference vote. The rules governing union affiliation would
have to change.

Disenchantment within the trade unions is now so great that some of the new
leaders are beginning to say that they could get along quite happily without
the Labour party. There is a legitimate argument in favour of separation.
Without the obligation to pussyfoot to protect politicians seeking
re-election, the unions could pursue their members' interests with a
single-minded determination. For the first time in a century, the case for
disaffiliation is being canvassed. Some formal ties have already been
broken. Many subscriptions have been reduced. If the process continues, the
result will be disaster for the party.

The less money Labour collects from the trade unions, the more it becomes
dependent on private donations of one sort or another. Nobody contributes to
a political party without wanting something in return. That is as true of
the Transport and General Workers' Union as it is of Bernie Ecclestone. But
what the TGWU wants is, or should be, what the Labour party wants too. The
same cannot be said with any certainty about Bernie Ecclestone. Some gifts
will come from genuine sympathisers. But, on the evidence of the last 10
years, many of the cheques will be written out by "benefactors" who expect a
return on their investment.

But the money is not everything. The most tragic consequence of more
trade-union alienation would be the postponement of a real Labour revival.
The party in the country is dwindling away. Some members resign because of
policy disagreement. As many go because they know that their opinions count
for nothing. Nobody in their right mind wants a return to the bad old days
of ritual conflict between the leaders and the led. But if Labour is to be a
party rather than a fan club, it has to become democratic again. The
policies that follow will reflect a renewed belief in socialism.

Only the trade unions have the power to change the rules in a way that makes
a revival possible. Some general secretaries and presidents doubt that the
effort is worthwhile. They should remember how they felt when they heard
that a Labour government was to promote the private-finance initiative and
the deregulated labour market. Their predecessors created the party. They
are the only people who, during the next year or two, can reassert its early
ideals. With the leadership in its present mood they would be wise to start
the fightback now - while they still have the chance.


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