Labour won't go bankrupt but at what price?

Labour's ruling National Executive was told yesterday that the party's finances were not as bad as reports in the media had suggested. You may dismiss this as spin, but since the 33 NEC members are responsible for the party's debts, there is a legal obligation on the party machine telling them the truth.

They were apparently told that several of the debts with the lenders had been rescheduled - Gulam Noon may even have converted his into a donation.

There are no signs that the Co-op or Unity Trust Bank - who offer overdraft facilities to be reviewed at the end of the month - will do anything other than approve another year's lending. A source at the Co-op bank said they would treat Labour 'like any other customer (!!!), adding even more hilariously we would sit down with them and look at solutions to help alleviate the problem".

Furthermore the Unions - in particular Unite, the party's biggest donor - insist that despite harsh rhetoric of recent days it will never allow the unions to go bust. However today's Tribune reveal the basic outline of what the unions want ahead of the Warwick II negotiations. These are:

New rules to protect the jobs of workers whose companies are bought out by private equity firms, on the lines of John Heppel’s unsuccessful private members’ bill earlier this year. The TUC and unions maintain that buyouts such as Saga’s takeover of the AA        last year lead inevitably to redundancies;

Mandatory company audits to ensure equal pay between men and women, a policy supported at last year’s Labour Party Conference and by Harriet Harman before she became Labour deputy leader;

Reform of laws governing industrial action, including a provision enabling unions to ballot their members by phone or e-mail, and provision for secondary industrial action by workers in the same company. A union official said that if a company closed one factory and other closures were mooted, workers in other factories should be able to strike;

An extension of the role of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority into the construction industry in order to prevent exploitation of workers on building sites, a move supported by construction union UCATT but resisted by the Government;

A greater commitment by the Government to procuring more goods and services from Britain without breaking European Union competition law. A union official said: “Somehow the French and the Germans can use procurement to the benefit of their own workforce but Britain doesn’t seem to be good at that”;

Reform of the minimum wage. In a rare instance of disagreement, some unions are keen to see an end to the current age-based banding and fixed annual increases, while others want the Low Pay Commission to continue advising on the wage.

Comments

[Labour Matters]

You sound disappointed that the media hype over Labour's finances turn out to be just part of the media's narrative that "Labour is on the ropes". I can't say I feel sorry for you. You could after all have given Labour HQ a ring to discover the truth.

[Stanley Embling]

Hi Sam Coats I'm here again! Unite say dispite harsh retoric of recent days they will never allow Unions to go bust! They refer to protect interst of workers who's jobs go bust? All I can say over such matters It's a pitty another certain Large Union (a prominent member of the TUC,) is not made "forced" to re-emburse fiscally, certain members VICTIMS who got injured disabled, then lost their employment totally Unaware they had been Excluded, Backballed, fiscally Disenfranchised, by that certain Large Union's certain official/s (before the Victims even got injured/ disabled,) leaving the contracts of the injured Excluded members, contracts Union membership violated/voided, and the duped /deceived unwary uniformed member Victims, not able to refute or repudiate such illegal actions! Why? Because the relevant evidence the Victims need remained wilfully concealed and suppressed, purposely to run the injured Victims out of Time, to their great fiscal detriments/prejudice, with our previously good industrial injury claims sunk! When invested it was clear it was done so on false statements forged Official Documents....In my opinion when the TUC brings pressure on that certain large Union (Who as The TUC are fully aware of these serious allegations) then have these wrongs placed on suffering VICTIMS put right, then the Unions TUC have no right to make such promises to other union members or workers (for which Tax /VATconcessions are made,) surely ??? Also Involved and of great concern to this very fact; this certain Large Union still helps fund the Labour Party also help sponsor two certain labour MP's, (who are also fully aware of these serious allegations as they have over the many years allegedly allowed the alleged
"dishonest" dealings to remain concealed / suppressed from the Public Domain,) allegedly on tainted money allegely gained illegally of certain Excluded Blackballed Union membership from a certain specific area which is then allegedly laundered from circa 2000 to make such "Expenses" funding appear clean!! Surely this is wrong ????? Stan The Man

[Alex Swanson]

"there is a legal obligation on the party machine telling them the truth."

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a legal obligation on them to tell the truth all the time.

Wouldn't it be even nicer if they always told the truth even without any legal obligations.

[Rev Smurf]

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a legal obligation on them to tell the truth all the time.

Wouldn't it be even nicer if they always told the truth even without any legal obligations.

I so agree wouldn't it also be nice if this was extended to the press.

As it is I think labour should come clean about its financial problems and its increasing reliance on TUC money if that is the reality. As it is we now live in a society in which the truth is very difficult to get at. The sad fact is that most people no longer believe what the politicians say. However it is not just the politicians that cannot be trusted the press has become increasingly dishonest to the extent that it stands in need of very drastic reform. It is not a case of IF the press should be reformed only of WHEN. When will we get a government that considers the truth to be an important principle worth fighting the shites of fleet street over ?

[Ian J. Ramsgate]

Smurf:
You want Jurno's to tell the truth,

IT AIN'T EVER GOING TO HAPPEN!

You average Jurno couldn't lie straight in bed, the truth is just aside line it's the story that's important.

[Frank Upton]

Perhaps the Party should insist that, when it has helped people into political power, it should receive a royalty on their political memoirs.