Another week brings another public disagreement between Labour’s leaders and the trade unions that once formed the backbone of their movement.
This time, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner faces criticism after being suspended by Unite the Union for not supporting striking bin workers in Birmingham.
Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, was clear: “We will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette.” Graham argued that the Labour-run Birmingham Council has let its workers down, and Rayner, who had “every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute,” instead sided with the council. There’s a sense of déjà vu here, with Labour’s old tendency to look the other way when problems occur closer to home.
For those of us who believe in social justice and strong local government, the question that naturally comes to mind is: “Which side are you on?” But as this latest episode unfolds, it’s apparent that Labour’s leadership’s answer is: its own side.
There is a precedent for Labour figures speaking out when their party is in the wrong. Neil Kinnock’s well-known rebuke to Militant Liverpool in 1985 is a notable example. However, nowadays, it seems more about posturing than principle.
Labour’s internal disputes shouldn’t just be entertainment for outsiders. They have real impacts on communities, services, and working people. As one of Rayner’s allies said, she’s “not interested in silly stunts… she’s interested in changing workers’ lives.” Yet, while Labour leaders argue among themselves, workers’ pay and conditions are left neglected. Some suggest that Unite’s actions and Sharon Graham’s ambitions ahead of a leadership election are the same. But for Birmingham’s residents, this political drama hardly offers solace.
So, where does this leave Unite, and more importantly, the millions of working people who depend on unions to stand up to bad employers, regardless of their political affiliation? The idea of Unite, Britain’s biggest trade union, disaffiliating from Labour is now openly discussed. If it happens, Unite would be the third major union to sever formal ties in recent decades, following the RMT and BFAWU.
For Labour, this isn’t just a financial issue (with Unite donating nearly £25 million since 2010), it’s a wake-up call about who they truly represent. And with new left-leaning parties emerging, such as the Corbyn-Sultana project, Labour can no longer assume that union loyalty is guaranteed.
But for those of us in the Liberal Democrats, the key question is: where is the credible, progressive alternative for working people when Labour is preoccupied with internal strife?
Across the country, Liberal Democrat councillors and campaigners are standing up for workers’ rights and fighting to protect local services. Meanwhile, Labour-run councils continue to cut or fail to act. Unlike Labour, our commitment to social justice isn’t conditional on party loyalty; it’s the belief that every community deserves a fair deal.
Labour’s ongoing civil war with Unite should remind us all: working people need a party focused on real-world results, not endless internal battles. The Liberal Democrats are ready to offer that alternative. As Labour drifts away from its core values and responsibilities, it’s up to us to stand up for those left behind and to build a politics that puts people first.
* Jack Meredith is a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and an active campaigner and canvasser with Swansea and Gower Liberal Democrats. His writing focuses on democratic reform, social justice, trade unionism, economic democracy, and the institutional foundations of effective government. He has written for the Fabians, Lib Dem Voice, Liberator, Nation Cymru, Bylines Cymru, and Centre Think Tank.
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13 Comments
Thanks to Jack Meredith for pointing out the “political open goal” that seems, so far, yet to be perceived by L. D leadership.
Might L D leadership’s adoption of a mixed economy based socio-economic root policy improve the existence of so many, engender socio-economic confidence and move our country away from.parasitic, Neo-liberal financial capitalism and towards more symbiotic resource producing capitalism?
The issue of political funds and affiliation to Labour needs to be tackled head on.
In most cases union members don’t realise they are contributing to a national account the vast majority of which gets hands over to the Labour party. If members want to opt out of paying union officials often make it difficult.
The evolution of Labour away from its roots should mean this archaic system comes to an end. If Unite end their affiliation and I very much hope they do we are well on the way!
In response to Steve Trevethan:
As much as I respect Sir Ed for his work on care and the charismatic enigma he is, I feel that he will never accept social democracy in any form. He strikes me more of a market liberal who wants to have a decent welfare state; so “third way lite”, in my opinion, anyway!
@ Jack Meredith
SHOCK HORROR – Leader of Liberal Democrats (elected by the membership nomless) is a actually a liberal!
Militant tendency were a Trotskyist entriest organisation that gained control of a number of Clp’s in the 80/90s & managed to get 3 MPs elected, & nearly unseated Simon Hughes in Bermondsey. No political party would accept that degree of entryism…
@Jack: You seem to be assuming that the striking bin workers in Birmingham are in the right and the council are in the wrong, but that’s not at all obvious to me. It’s clear from what I’ve seen in the news that both sides have different views about the state of negotiations, and it’s also very clear that Birmingham City Council is in a huge financial crisis and desperately needs to save money, and is therefore not in a position to be very generous about employee salaries – something that you’d expect a reasonable trades union to be aware of and take account of, but which Unite don’t seem to be willing to do.
@SimonR
You speak like someone who knows little if anything about trade unions. No workers goes on strike unless they have a valid grievance, in the case of Birmigham it is because the employer wants to cut their wages. That seems like a very good reason to me!
@David: Going on strike clearly means people feel they have some kind of grievance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their grievance is valid. I can think of many strikes where the Trade Union’s demands were, by any reasonable standard, excessive. It would be a huge mistake to assume that just because people are on strike, that means they are in the right and their demands must be met.
Cutting wages is not pleasant but it’s not always unreasonable. If an employer is losing money/the wages currently being paid are unaffordable, then it might be the only option. And if the employee feels they aren’t earning enough, then they are quite free to look for a better paid job. Personally I’m self-employed and my earnings can just as easily go down as up according to market conditions. In fact they’ve dropped quite sharply over the last few years. But I don’t go on strike/refuse to work whenever I find I’m earning less than the previous year.
Jack Meredith is right to avoid gratuitous interference in Labour’s private grief. That does not not stop us homing in on urgent issues of basic social justice that go by default when energy and strategy are diverted into dealing with the governing party’s internal wars, which distort policymaking and slow down “delivery”.
@Craig Levene – was it that close in S&B in 1987? I remember being sent out to deliver anti-Militant leaflets and then it turned out not to be that close.
Fun to see the pickle the Labour leadership in Southwark are currently in. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of people!
Might a possible approach to addressing the Birmingham bin disagreement be to revise community charge taxation so that it really represents the value of the property?
@SimonR
As I said you know little if anything about trade unions.
Liberal Democrats must be the Party that supports a Mixed Economy of the Public Sector, Private sector, Mutual Societies, Co-operatives and Social Enterprises.