The newly published papers reveal the true extent of the union funding of the Labour Party and why it is impossible for it to reform party funding to be more reliant on smaller individual donations rather than large scale individual (Ashcroft, etc) or union funding:
- Many union members would not pay a political levy to the Labour Party if given a choice.
- Some trade unions affiliate more individuals to the Labour Party than they have union members paying a political levy (only money from the political levy can be used for political purposes).
- From 2001 to 2006, the unions gave the Labour Party £45 million in cash.
- Trade unions pay £1 million a year to the Labour Party at a local and regional level, tying in local Labour Party branches through binding “Constituency Development Plans”.
“The trade union would be able to collect donations from its members, and would be required to pass the donation to the political party of the individual’s choice. Where members decided to donate to the political party the union had affiliated to, these payments would form the collective affiliation fee. The union would therefore be affiliating based on 100% of its members who contributed towards the affiliation fee. The union would continue to collect a political levy from members to fund other political activities. Trade unions would annually ask each member whether they wanted to make a donation and if so, how much and to which political party”
Shockingly figures revealed by the Labour party at the meeting also showed that in 2001 Union funds represented 81% of all cash donations to the party averaging 66% of all donations between 2001 and 2006.
Total donations in cash to Labour Party | Donations from trade union (including affiliation fees) to Labour Party | Percentage of cash donations from trade unions | |
2001 | £12 million | £9.7 million | 81% |
2002 | £11.3 million | £6.7 million | 59% |
2003 | £14.7 million | £8 million | 54% |
2004 | £15 million | £10.7 million | 71% |
2005 | £20.6 million | £11.8 million | 57% |
2006 | £11.7 million | £8.5 million | 73% |
So why is Call me Dave apparently committed to continuing the 'modernisation payments' that bung the unions millions of taxpayers' money for them to pass on to the Labour Party?!
ReplyDeleteLet's go through your facts here:
ReplyDelete1) Many union members would not pay a political levy to the Labour Party if given a choice.
A) That's true, many union members wouldn't and as union members do have the choice, they don't.
2) Some trade unions affiliate more individuals to the Labour Party than they have union members paying a political levy (only money from the political levy can be used for political purposes).
A) I'm not aware of any unions that do that but that's more of a problem between the unions and Labour, note that no matter how many members they claim the only money comes from the political fund.
3) From 2001 to 2006, the unions gave the Labour Party £45 million in cash.
A) It's more likely to be in the form of cheques, there's no need for brown envelopes of cash.
4) Trade unions pay £1 million a year to the Labour Party at a local and regional level, tying in local Labour Party branches through binding “Constituency Development Plans”.
A) I'm not sure how binding they are, UNISON ended theirs unilaterally - but how is that different to Ashcroft's money going into a constituency except it's less money.
Don't forget David Sainsbury, the grocer's least successful Chairman and the principal reason for Tesco's current dominance of UK food retailing who gave than £15m in the last 6 years.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to suggest the cash donations were physical cash donations, but rather they were money rather than services in kind or loans.
ReplyDeleteAD627 said...
ReplyDelete"So why is Call me Dave apparently committed to continuing the 'modernisation payments' that bung the unions millions of taxpayers' money for them to pass on to the Labour Party?!"
He is not. On Tues 23rd March David Cameron stated at his Press Conference that "the Trade Union Modernisation Fund will be suspended".