LESS than half of members of the Unite union would vote for Labour in an election, a poll has revealed. In a devastating blow for party leader Ed Miliband, almost a quarter of the union’s membership said they would vote Tory. And just 12 per cent would join the Labour Party, according to the survey by former Tory party deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft. The poll of 712 Unite members also found that only 30 per cent would opt in to funding Labour if the political levy were reformed. Labour leader Mr Miliband has proposed an end to the automatic opt-in for union members, which is a major source of party funding. Lord Ashcroft said: “Len McCluskey [Unite general secretary] rightly observes that whether trade unionists will rally to Labour will depend on whether Miliband gives them ‘reasons to want to be associated’ with the party. “McCluskey is quite right that his members are not queueing up to join Labour. And if Miliband takes his advice, nor will they.”
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 08:10:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015