- Union Leader’s Call: Unite president urges Labour to be bolder and more ambitious
- Union Influence: Unite retains affiliation with Labour to maintain influence on party policies
- Grassroots Approach: Unite plans to engage voters and push for public ownership through direct contact and billboards
Labor should be “bolder” and “more ambitious” rather than “tinkering around the edges,” the president of the second largest union in the United Kingdom has said.
Sharon Graham, leader of Unite, cautioned that if apathy prevails in the upcoming general election, “apathy” will triumph.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party receives more funding from the union than any other.
This week, Ms. Graham thwarted an attempt by some members to terminate Unite’s affiliation with Labour, which guarantees the party nearly £1.5 million annually.
She argued that the worst moment to leave the Labour Party would be when it was “within touching distance of power,” as doing so would diminish union influence.
Ms. Graham is a member of both the public and private sectors; therefore, what influence does she wish to exert?
Next Saturday, the National Policy Forum of the Labour Party will convene in Nottingham behind closed doors.
It brings together union representatives, members of Congress, and some shadow ministers.
Although any policies agreed upon there are not guaranteed to be included in the next election platform, trade unions can make their priorities abundantly plain.
For United, public ownership of energy companies and the struggling steel industry is near the top of its agenda.
Ms. Graham has argued in several encounters with the Labour leadership that it would be less expensive to acquire a steel industry that has lost a significant portion of its market value than to bail out its private owners.
This week, while speaking at Unite’s policy conference in Brighton, the Labour leader was publicly exhorted to do so.
However, while he has discussed “preserving” the industry if Labour is elected, he has not committed to acquiring it for the state.
People influence
Ms. Graham now intends to approach policymaking unconventionally.
The plan is for “hundreds of organizers” to visit marginal seats and speak with voters about the case for public ownership of critical industries.
The message will be reinforced by billboards funded by Unite.
The expectation is that electors will then exert pressure on local Labour parties and candidates to commit to supporting nationalization.
“We will take our ideas to the people,” Ms. Graham told me.
“The true decision-makers are the electorate. Politicians tend to move when speaking with voters if they push these notions.
Her overarching criticism is that the Labour leadership does not offer a distinct enough alternative to the government and is too constrained by the condition of the economy.
She argued that “we need to be as bold as the 1945 Labour government” that established the NHS. I can attest to the fact that there wasn’t much money available back then, she said.
She suggested that the next Labour government could leave a lasting legacy.
A Labour administration ended privatisation and high energy bills.
Many of the things that trade unions want, such as increased employment rights, will not occur, according to the Labour leadership, unless the party gains economic credibility.
The party’s strategists also believe it must move away from Corbyn-era ideas to win back 2019 voters.
‘Maximum leverage’
However, Ms. Graham told me that strict adherence to shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves’ “fiscal rules” had resulted in “inertia” and that people were beginning to query, “What’s the difference?” between the administration and opposition.
If Labour asserts that the current situation is terrible, and it is indeed terrible, then they must propose solutions.
While Labour criticizes the number of children living in poverty, its shadow ministers have been warned they cannot make spending commitments, such as providing free school meals for all primary school children, because doing so would be costly.
Ms. Graham stated that the party must “discuss what they can do to transform Britain. People want to vote for something.”
She told her members last week that Unite’s financial ties to Labour will give her “maximum leverage” with the party.
However, she has not yet altered the energy and steel policy. Therefore, by guaranteeing funds to Sir Keir Starmer, wasn’t she reducing her negotiating leverage?
“You pay the affiliation fee to become a member of the club. But the majority of the money we traditionally gave Labour was outside of the affiliation charge,” she said.
Before the last election, the union contributed an additional £3 million to Labour.
However, Ms. Graham cautioned that “there are no blank checks.”
“I want to see movement if we’re going to give the same amount as usual… We would be better off with a Labour government, but I am extremely dismayed by their lack of ambition.”
