I don’t suppose any of the leadership candidates will not sign the pledge but it is right that TULO and the rest of us should be campaigning on this issue and making people aware of the real threat.
“Dear John,
Where would the Labour Party be without us?
It's almost impossible to imagine. For over a hundred years, trade union members have been at the heart of the Party. Together, we have fought for the rights of working people and their families - and built a better society as a result.
Now, with the Labour leadership election approaching, we find ourselves in a precarious situation. The Tory and Liberal Democrat Coalition wants to change the way political parties are funded. This would threaten the way unions currently affiliate to the Labour Party and represent their members.
It's crucial for union members that we have a Labour Leader who will defend the strong relationship between the Party and the unions. Ask the candidates to pledge their support for a strong link between the Party and the trade union movement:
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/protect-party-link
Labour was founded on the principle of being a voice for the people of Britain; the voices of millions of working people are brought to the centre of the Party through collective representation by the affiliated trade unions.
Now with the Coalition government looking to change how political parties are funded, working people's voice could be silenced....”
I think that the Party and the trades unions are pretty shell shocked at the moment with all that has gone on under the LIBCONS (and the far, far worse to come) so this should also be a good time to build a better relationship in the future between the wider Labour movement and its political arm.
