
Labour is no longer the party of labour: the Rayner/Unite row proves it
But the message on Friday from Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, the successor to the TGWU, was intended as a shot across the bows of the Labour Party. First, and least significantly, it was suspending deputy prime minister Angela Rayner for 'bringing the union into disrepute', having had the audacity to support Labour-run Birmingham City Council in its seemingly never-ending dispute with bin men.
Of more consequence was the union's vote at its annual conference to 'discuss our relationship with Labour' – a discussion in the same fashion as when the Kray brothers would discuss their relationship with other gangland bosses. Destroy, in other words.
Severing the relationship between Labour and its union funders has been a perennial of politics for decades. Sometimes it's used as a threat, as now, by a union which feels it's not getting value for money from its creature. Other times, as in the heyday of New Labour, it comes from party thinkers as a demonstration of how Labour is no longer the creature of the unions.
Labour has itself changed its relationship with the unions, most importantly when it introduced One Member, One Vote (OMOV) in 1993 under John Smith, which removed the union block vote in leadership elections and candidate selections and then by Ed Miliband abolishing the old electoral college in 2014, handing the leadership to Jeremy Corbyn.
But while there has been no formal severing of the link between the unions and Labour, many individual unions have stopped affiliating to the party. Today there are just eleven which still affiliate: rail union ASLEF, general union Community, the Communication Workers Union, the Fire Brigades Union, general union the GMB, the Musicians Union, the National Union of Mineworkers, transport union TSSA, public sector union Unison, Unite and the shopworkers' union USDAW.
For decades Labour was effectively bought and paid for by the unions, which were the party's only significant source of funding. That led to the old tensions when the party didn't act as its paymasters demanded. Things are very different today, with consequently different tensions.
Labour's income in 2023 was £21.5 million, of which just £5.9 million came from unions. £14.5 million came from companies and individuals. That's a pattern. In 2020 and 2021 unions gave £6.9 million, in 2022 it was £5.3 million, while funding from businesses and individual donations have risen from £2.3 million in 2020 to £3 million in 2021, £7.6 million in 2022 and nearly £14 million in 2023.
Of that £14m, £10m was from four individuals, Gary Lubner (£4.6 million), David Sainsbury (£3.1 million), Fran Perrin (£1 million – Perrin is David Sainsbury's daughter) and eco-activist Dale Vince' Ecotricity (£1m). In other words, two people gave Labour more money than all trade unions combined.
This tells its own political story about how Labour is no longer the party of labour. The 2019 Conservative red wall success was built on this, just as the current support for Reform is in part based on voters who would once have seen Labour as their natural party.
But instead of funding the party, unions have moved to individual MPs.
In 2023 212 Labour MPs and received more than £2m in donations and support. And of those unions, Unite provided by far the most money, totalling £553,900 given to 86 MPs. So Labour MPs still need their union funding – as does the party itself. It may now be a fraction of the levels of old, but £5.9 million is a huge sum the party will not have if unions take their money elsewhere.
Sharon Graham may not be Frank Cousins, but she has her own cards to play.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Labour not learning lessons from deaths of domestic abuse victims, report finds
The voices of women who have died at the hands of a partner or former partner are being ignored and the government is failing to heed warnings from their deaths, a damning report from the domestic abuse commissioner reveals today. An examination into how the government learns lessons from the deaths of domestic abuse victims has found that half of the national recommendations made in domestic homicide reviews (DHRs) are not put into action, with only a quarter fully implemented. The domestic abuse commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, told the Guardian that a study of DHRs – carried out whenever anyone over 16 is murdered in a domestic setting – revealed a 'deeply concerning' lack of oversight at the top of government. Between 2019 and 2021 DHRs made 110 national recommendations, the majority of which were for the Home Office. Of these only 25% were fully implemented, while a further 25% were deemed to be happening already, 21% were missing, 20% were partly met and 8% were not met. The report found that 'most shockingly' in the majority of cases government departments were not aware a recommendation had been made to them, and not a single one could confirm they had told the review's local authors about the action they had taken. Despite the value of DHRs, which were introduced in 2011, the report states: 'We currently have no idea the extent to which recommendations and action plans are being implemented on a national level. This is a huge opportunity missed.' Asked if the government was ignoring the voices of women who had been killed, Jacobs said: 'Yes, we're ignoring that tragedy. The whole point of these reviews is to shine a light on what is going wrong.' Jacobs said that in hundreds of meetings with the families of women who had been killed by domestic abusers, they all spoke of their desire to prevent further murders. Calling for more accountability and central oversight, she added: 'What we're saying at the moment is we're not willing to put in the work to make sure that we're doing everything we can so that no one else has to go through this.' The government's highly anticipated Violence Against Women strategy, part of Keir Starmer's pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade, is expected in September. Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, has promised to tackle the 'scourge of femicide' and reduce the number of women killed by partners and former partners. But Jacobs said she worried that instead of a 'big vision' the government was employing a 'spending review strategy' and risked limiting itself to 'what was affordable right now'. She urged Starmer to take control in delivering the promise. 'The prime minister and the most senior people in government have got to stop – right now – and take a very hard look to see if their commitments are anywhere near where they need to be,' she said. 'This is the critical moment. It is now or never. This is going to be the period where they will either look back in 10 years and say that's when we made the decisions that really turned the tide on this or when the opportunity was missed.' Jacobs, who became the first person to hold the post in 2021 when it was created by the Domestic Abuse Act, already has concerns. Failing to put tackling VAWG at the heart of the government's 10-year plan for the NHS, launched this month was a missed opportunity, she said. Analysis shows that the NHS has more contact with victims and perpetrators than any other public service, but a recent report concluded that the health service is failing victims by not training staff. 'When the VAWG strategy is published later this year it must link more closely to the NHS plan to make sure the NHS plays its part in keeping victims and survivors safe,' said Jacobs. Before the review Jacobs – who knows the pressure of the frontline having run a domestic abuse services for 20 years – said it was time for cash-strapped services dealing with abuse victims to get core funding from the government, in the same way that the Domestic Abuse Act imposed a duty on local authorities to provide refuges. Last year a slew of women's charities wrote to Starmer to warn him that funding cuts and rising costs would have 'dire consequences' for victims of domestic and sexual violence and put the government's mission to halve violence against females 'in jeopardy'. 'When those services are not there victims die, are severely harmed and suffer lifelong impacts,' said Jacobs. 'There is a tragic human cost to that but an economic cost as well.' A spokesperson for the Home Office said it did a public consultation on DHR in 2024 and was looking at the statutory guidance underpinning the recommendations to ensure 'a more effective process'. Phillips said: 'My thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost a loved one to domestic homicide. Every single death is a tragedy, and more needs to be done to ensure domestic homicide reviews are effective and timely. 'A new oversight board with publicly-appointed members and training for review chairs would make sure recommendations went to the right person, and lessons were learned. We cannot afford to have recommendations lost.'


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Antisemitism report finds increase in anti-Jewish discrimination
A new report into antisemitism has laid out a number of recommendations, including that the NHS tackle what it found was a "specific unaddressed issue of antisemitism". Launched by the Board of Deputies of British Jews in 2024, the report made 10 recommendations after taking evidence from a range of organisations, including the NHS, the arts industry and the John Mann, the government's independent advisor on antisemitism, who led the review with ex-Conservative cabinet minister Dame Penny Mordaunt, said the commission heard "shocking experiences".He said it was "unacceptable" there had been what he called an "onslaught of antisemitism" in the UK since 7 October. He added that they hoped the recommendations would provide guidance and 1,200 people were killed in a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, while 251 others were taken Israeli military launched an ongoing campaign in Gaza in response to the attack. At least 57,823 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health majority of the recommendations in the report pointed towards antisemitism training in different was the creation of an "Antisemitism Training Qualification" for those who carry out training on what it called "contemporary antisemitism". It explained that Jewish communal organisations wanted to increase knowledge on anti-Jewish discrimination, which could be done if there was a standard training given by a "credible provider".On Jewish identity, it said Judaism "should always be seen and understood... as an ethnicity as well as a religion", which the commission said would ensure antisemitism is dealt with report found many Jewish employees within the NHS felt antisemitism was not being addressed in the workplace, as well as some Jewish patients feeling "uneasy about using the service".Among its recommendations are that the NHS should hold a summit to tackle the "specific unaddressed issue of antisemitism" within the health service. It also suggested that antisemitism should be included in all Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training, which it said would increase the number of people "educated" about it and "confident in tackling it"."No person should face abuse or discrimination whilst going about their business, whether it is pursuing the career of their choice or accessing public services," Dame Penny education, the report claimed to have received evidence of some Christian primary school teachers "inadvertently using antisemitic tropes" in subjects such as religious said it welcomed an initiative proposed by the Winchester Diocese and the local Jewish community to teach the teachers how to avoid doing so, and recommended that it be evaluated and applied to all faith Board of Deputies said that while it believed "everyone should have the right to express their opinions and beliefs", those in a role of "welfare, safety or security... have an additional duty to ensure people feel able to ask for their assistance".Other recommendations asked that Jewish members of the arts industry and unions be treated key recommendation was on policing and devising a "consistent approach" to dealing with antisemitic of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg said the report could be "summarised as one of a failure to apply the protections rightly afforded to different vulnerable groups equally to Jewish people in the same positions".


Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Canadian musician calls off U.S. concerts amid pushback to Trump policies
Canadian rock musician Matthew Good has canceled a slate of upcoming shows in the United States as a pushback to policies promoted by President Donald Trump. The Burnaby, British Columbia-born musical artist, 54, opened up on his change of plans in cities such as Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh via the social media website Facebook Friday. 'To my US fans, and friends ... I've come to the personal decision, that I can't, in good conscience carry out my dates this summer in your country,' said the musician, whose signature tracks include Decades and Hello Time Bomb. Good added: 'This is not fair to you, and I'm very well aware of that, but the truth is, every week that goes by, I have a deeper disdain for what's going on there politically.' In referring to Trump's tariffs and other policies, Good said that he would not be able to perform in the U.S. again until major political changes were to happen; and that he was willing to risk his 'future U.S. career to stand up against things today.' Trump, in six months since taking office for his second term, has rankled Canada and its citizens over a number of issues - including his repeated references to it being the '51st state.' A number of X users slammed Good for the move, with one user saying that the political reasoning was 'likely an excuse due to lack of interest.' Another user joked: 'Those poor Americans. How will they ever get over this one?' with a broken heart emoji. One X user said in response that Good was 'only hurting himself and the people who work for the band financially' with the move, adding that 'Americans wont notice one way or the other.' Said one user: 'One was a 400 seat brew pub. His date was sandwiched between trivia night and a cover band. He wasn't doing a Las Vegas residency.' Good said on the social media site that he was persuaded to cancel the shows after Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney called off a digital services tax against the U.S. to 'appease' Trump. 'This was approximately 2 billion dollars in revenue that has been accumulating, and we're walking away from that,' Good said. Good added that between 'the massive increase in visa costs, the fear mongering that even after we have our visas, we may still be denied entry if we have something negative to say about the current GOP, and I end up in a situation where I'm biting my tongue, and losing what credibility I had to stand up and say something. ' Good said that the current political climate made it clear he had to do something to show where he stood. A number of X users slammed Good for the move, with one user saying that the political reasoning was 'likely an excuse due to lack of interest' 'I can't stand by and be quiet while our amazing country is bullied into walking away from billions in needed revenue, constantly left wondering if we actually have a partner or an enemy to the south.' He said that 'equally as tragic' would be 'supporting someone who has completely bastardized the institution of art and culture in the US.' Good said that it would be 'unfair' to try and recruit 'other artists to join' him in the political protest, as he planned to center his musical career out of his native Canada for the foreseeable future. 'I have built a career here in Canada that I'm proud of, and will double down here over the next 3 years, and invite my US fans to any show they want to here,' Good said. Good said that fans of his should mobilize their support for the musical group Texas King, which 'might suffer more out of this' on a business level. 'So as a favour, we encourage you to get out and support them wherever you can!' Good said. Good, who canceled dates in protest of Trump's policies, said that his 'world has always focussed on political awareness.' He added 'I know that you might not all be on the same side, so I want to be clear about this. It's MY opinion.'