The Central Executive Council (CEC) of the GMB general union has voted to reduce its current level of membership affiliation to the Labour Party from 420,000 members to 50,000 members from 1 January 2014. This will reduce its funding of Labour from £1.2m per annum to £150,000 per annum. The CEC stated that it expected that there would be further reductions in spending on Labour Party campaigns and initiatives as well. This measure is a result of the proposal mooted by party leader Ed Miliband to limit unions’ influence in the party. (Ref. 130526)
This comes as a result of the GMB CEC expressing ‘considerable regret about the apparent lack of understanding that the proposal mooted by Ed Miliband will have on the collective nature of trade union engagement with the Labour Party. … A further source of considerable regret to the CEC is that the party that had been formed to represent the interest of working people in this country intends to end collective engagement of trade unions in the party they helped to form.’
Miliband’s proposals to c
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