Proposals to change the link between the UK Labour party and the trade unions have been approved at the party’s spring conference with 86% of members in favour of the new rules. The Labour Leader Ed Miliband had urged the party to adopt a “one member, one vote” system for leadership elections and an end to the automatic affiliation of union members.
These reforms are without doubt the biggest change to the structure of the UK labour party since Tony Blair won his fight to change Clause IV of the party’s constitution in 1993. What Ed Milliband has demonstrated today is a clear commitment to progressive politics, without compromising the Labour party’s core values as a democratic socialist party.
The new rules will change the method by which Labour selects its leader. The previous electoral-college system, which gave trade unions, party members and MPs/MEPs a third of the votes each will be replaced in favour of one member, one vote system. This change will empower individual party members giving them greater say in the direction of the UK labour Party; and is particularly significant for young labour supporters who already benefit from a discounted membership fee. MPs however will continue to have sole nomination rights for leadership candidates and those candidates will need a higher level of support than is currently the case.
Ed Milliband currently hopes to make Labour a mass membership party and believes that these changes will be instrumental in building his party’s appeal in the coming years. Labour has had to adapt from its origins. While it will remain a party committed to representing the working people of Britain, it is changing to bring the party in line with a period where not all trade union members may wish to become party members and vice-versa. Therefore automatic affiliation of trade union members to the party will come to an end. Union members will have to ‘double opt-in’ if they want to take part in the Labour leadership selection. They will have to say that they are content to give money to Labour and that they want to become ‘an affiliated supporter’.
While these changes may in part be a reactionary measure aimed at silencing a right wing hostile to the Milliband regime which had dubbed the ‘One nation’ leader ‘Red Ed’ because of the significant role Trade unions played in his leadership selection. It should also be noted that this is an invigorating and exciting time to be involved in left wing politics in Britain. A one member one vote system is truly in keeping with the spirit of ‘common endeavour’ set out in our party’s constitution. The next stage must be to reach out and connect with the electorate in a way that UK political parties have not done for a generation.
To truly become a mass membership party Labour must buck the trend of decreasing party membership which has dogged their opponents the conservative party. Labour must go out and win the hearts of working people from a culture of political latency and a mind-set that says ‘it’s ok if you don’t vote, because all politicians are the same’. These changes stop that. These changes allow working people to have a say in who they will be voting for.
More than anything labour must go out and inspire. And it is my belief that this is the first step in that direction.
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