UK Election: Labour Surge Gives Unions a Chance
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- Published on Saturday, 10 June 2017 00:30
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1430 .... June 10, 2017
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UK Election: Labour Surge Gives Unions a Chance
Gregor Gall
For the vast majority of unions in Britain, the idea of the Labour Party fighting a general election with a dream leadership team of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell was manna from heaven after the era of New Labour. From 1997 to 2010, many unions believed Labour governments were a case of "power without principles." The unions did manage to get Ed Miliband elected as leader in 2010, rather than his more centrist brother David, but that did little to shift the balance in the equation between power and principles come the 2015 general election.
The latest vote witnessed an unexpected and significant Labour advance despite a viciously hostile press and deep internal party... divisions. Theresa May's gamble on a snap election has failed miserably; a hung parliament the result. But Corbyn's union backers are still likely to find themselves holding principles without power.
The 14 unions affiliated to the Labour party, representing some 3.5 million members, were joined by non-affiliated unions like the PCS civil servants’ union and the RMT transport union in urging members and their friends and families to vote Labour. Corbyn and McDonnell aligned Labour with unions’ ideology more than ever before; their reward came in organized events like "Trade Union Tuesday" on June 6 when union members were encouraged to get out and campaign for Labour.
