Ed Miliband today dismissed threats by trade union leaders to block his radical plan to reshape the relationship between Labour and its union founders.
The Labour leader said he was determined to force through "as soon as possible" a change under which union members would "opt in" to paying ?3 a year to the party rather than the present system under which they "opt out" if they do not wish to fund Labour.? ?I definitely want these changes agreed before the [2015] general election,? he said. ?No one should be in any doubt about my determination to get this done.?
Answering questions after a keynote speech in London, Mr Miliband hinted that Labour could turn down the unions? money unless their affiliation fees, which total ?8m annually, were collected in the way he proposes. He pointed out that unions decide whether to support the party financially ? and Labour decided whether to accept their money.
Asked if he would resign if he failed to secure his reforms, Mr Miliband said: ?We are going to get these changes.? I am absolutely determined.? These changes are necessary, they are the right thing to do. We are going to make them happen.?? He admitted the proposal would have ?massive financial implications? but insisted he would ?seize the moment?.
A review of the Labour-union link will he headed by Lord Collins, the party?s former general secretary, who is also a former official with Unite, the union which sparked the shake-up by alleged malpractice in trying to install its favoured candidate as Labour?s standard-bearer in Falkirk at the general election. The review will also look at the ?wider implications? of the proposed change, including the unions? 50 per cent share of the vote at Labour?s annual conference and 33 per cent share of the electoral college which chooses the party leader.
Mr Miliband denied the changes were weak, citing support for them from Tony Blair, who earlier praised the Labour leader for what he called ?a real act of leadership.? The former Prime Minister admitted that he should have introduced the same reforms when he was party leader, saying: ?I think this is a defining moment, and I think it's bold and it's strong.?? He added: "It's important not only in its own terms, because he's carrying through a process for reform in the Labour Party that's long overdue?.and I think this is also very important for the country - is that he's sending a very strong message to the country that in the end he'll do what's right for all the country and not simply for one section of it.?
But Billy Hayes, general secretary of the CWU postal workers? union, dismissed the proposal as ?a very old fashioned idea.? Asked whether he could stop Mr Miliband pushing it? through, he replied: "Well, let's see. Let's just see what happens in the process." He added: "We are going to make sure our voice is heard. We live in a democratic society and as I understand it we are entitled to have our say in the party."
Len McCluskey, the leader of Unite,? was more conciliatory, saying his union was ?more than happy? to engage in talks about the Miliband plan. ?He said: ?"It was certainly a bold and brave speech, and it may well be a historic one if Ed's vision comes to fruition.? He seemed to be saying that he wanted to see tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of ordinary trade unionists actively playing an active role within the?Labour?Party. That's something I very much welcome.
However, before the speech, Mr McCluskey threatened to block the change. He said that it would ?require?Labour?to unite with the Tories to change the law, would debilitate the unions' ability to speak for their members and further undermine their status as voluntary, and self-governing, organisations.
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