Unions would drive a Corbyn government

The trade union movement is celebrating 150 years since the first congress took place at the Manchester Mechanics’ Institute in 1868. The TUC is back in Manchester this year, and arguably wielding greater political influence than it has done at any time since 1979. That year saw the peak of trade union membership after a period in which Labour had been in government for 11 of the previous 15 years.

Everything changed after Mrs Thatcher took office determined to reduce the power of the unions. Membership has fallen markedly: just 40 years ago, more than half the workforce were members of a trade union. Today it is barely one in five. One reason for the decline was the backlash against the way the trade unions had openly challenged the elected government of the day. In the 1970s they brought down both the Heath and Callaghan governments. They have not had such power since.

Yet in the current Labour leadership they see the opportunity to recapture their glory days. Jeremy Corbyn owes his position to the efforts of Leftwing bosses such as Len Mccluskey, whose Unite organisation is the biggest union and largest donor to the party. It is also helping to purge moderates from Labour’s ranks.

Moreover, unlike past Labour leaders, Mr Corbyn does not need to be strong-armed into giving the unions more power and rights since he openly advocates doing so. At the TUC today, John Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, will outline the most union-friendly set of proposals seen since the TUC’S heyday in the Seventies. They include a requirement on private companies employing more than 250 staff to set up ownership funds giving workers a financial stake as well as new powers to influence how they are run. Mr Mcdonnell says this will represent an “irreversible shift in wealth and power in favour of working people”. In reality, it is payback time for the union bosses for bankrolling the takeover of the party by the hard Left.

The TUC has in recent years focused more on attracting new members by emphasising their ability to negotiate better terms and conditions. As a result, there has even been a slight rise in numbers recently. But if Labour wins the next election, the hard-left unions will once again be driving the government’s social and economic policies.