Labour Research March 2015

Union news

Union boost for Labour campaign

The largest union affiliated to the Labour Party, general union Unite, has agreed to donate £1.5 million to the party’s campaign funds on top of its affiliation fee.

The union’s executive council expressed concern that the Tory-led government could be re-elected because of its funding advantage. It said: “The union is determined that the present government should not be allowed to float to re-election on a tide of big business cash while Labour remains under-resourced.”

Unite added that it would consider further support for Labour in due course.

Meanwhile, the GMB general union has reinstated its affiliation level to the party back up to 400,000 members. In 2013 it announced it was cutting it from 420,000 members to 50,000, with a corresponding reduction in its affiliation fee.

www.unitetheunion.org/news/unites-executive-council-agrees-labour-donation