Unite, one of the UK’s largest trade unions, refuses to endorse Labour manifesto

19 comments

1. Well that’s ok. I always think that the unions try and influence labour to much anyway.

2. Good. Reports suggest there’s barely gonna be anything in it. What a wonderful, transformative government we have to look forward to.

3. Good, not worth the time tbh. They know they’re going to win by default.

4. Unless Sharon Graham pulls all funding, this will make zero difference – Starmer has bent over backwards to convince the Tory donors that his regime can be trusted to look after their interests (at the expense of the rest of us) and they are duly cutting cheques

5. If Unite endorses then they can’t really criticise it when it inevitably gets binned in 6 months.

6. The more Labour tries to fight the Unions the better for us. Capitalist democracy is a fraud and there is no use in courting power from it’s representatives who determine only the aesthetics of choice. 

7. Too much workers rights are bad. Too much business rights are bad. Glad to see Labour taking the middle ground. We don’t want workers being exploited, and equally we don’t want to see trade unions exploiting businesses. It’s no good for anyone. 

   Edit. Oh ooh. I’m being down voted by the ultra left wing Reddit crowd. 

8. Unite is run by the sort of people who think Jeremy Corbyn was a capitalist lickspittle. At this stage I don’t understand why they don’t just affiliate with the SWP and drop the pretence.

9. One of the biggest endorsements Labour can get for large swathes of the public

10. Liz Kendal, Wes Streeting, and Peter Mandelson probably see this as a huge PR win because they want to disassociate the party from the unions as much as possible – that was the whole New Labour drive to “modernise” the party by dropping Clause 4 and weakening it’s commitment to public ownership, workers rights, and trade unionism.

11. That’s a bonus for Starmer. When an extreme union doesn’t back you it shows you have sensible limits

12. Now would be the perfect time for Corbyn to surprise everyone with a new party, especially if he can get Unites endorsement from day 1. 

    I know Corbyn is marmite. But the more I think about it, the more I think a coalition between Kier’s Labour and a real Socialist party led by Corbyn would be a great government for this country. 

    As long as we let Labour handle the foreign policy side. 

13. I’m a Unite member – they shouldn’t be endorsing the party *at all*. Labour’s not a party for the workers, so a union has no business endorsing it. Either endorse an actual workers’ party, or keep your nose out of politics altogether.

14. Unions can do one. Sorry but as good as most of them are for rights, they also shaft the harder workers whilst meanwhile shafting our economy. 

    Fully aware that I’ll get downvoted for even mentioning any sort of negative about a union

    (Please don’t come back about suffragettes or the 6 day week, I fully understand that part, I just don’t like the majority of unions in todays world, as they are just as politically skewed as our actual politicians)

15. I’m not sure what Unite thinks it’s doing sock-puppetting the voices of its members on this sort of thing. Workers’ rights and other employment issues, sure. But everything else- the leadership have absolutely tiny mandates.

16. So… Does Sir Max Headroom have anything to worry about if Unite aren’t happy?

17. Just thinking maybe showing their cards will only let the Cons steal themThinking if the pledges not kept the ladt election .
    Lets face it Unite noone could be worse than the last 14 years and at least you can negotiate and consult with Labour
    Do you want rid off them because playing games now wont help you. Or are u closet Cons .Ive been in a trade Union for 56 years Think on the danage this could do Have you endorsed the farage party??

18. Did I miss something?

    They haven’t released their manifesto yet…

19. They won’t endorse it for two reasons;
    Fire and rehire – good, this is a shit policy
    Oil & gas licenses – they want more and Labour want to give fewer

    So yay for workers rights and fuck the environment seems to be their stance