Beaten by the bullies

DESPERATE to appear something other than a trade union puppet, Ed Miliband decided to act tough with his paymasters when the Falkirk voterigging scandal broke in July.

First, he demanded an investigation into the disturbing allegation that Unite was trying to buy Labour’s candidacy in the Scottish seat for Karie Murphy, one of the hard-Left union’s favourites. Then, in what was supposed to be his own Clause Four moment, Mr Miliband promised to curb union leaders’ power over Labour by barring them from making en bloc donations to the party on behalf of their individual members. How spectacularly this attempted show of political machismo has backfired.

In protest at the proposed rule change on donations, the GMB last week slashed its handouts to the heavilyindebted Labour Party by £1million – pushing it closer to a full-blown financial crisis. And now Mr Miliband is facing demands to issue a grovelling apology to Unite after his own internal inquiry into Falkirk found no evidence of wrongdoing.

There are alternative ways of viewing this debacle. Either a terrified Mr Miliband decided he could not risk an angry Unite further pulling the financial rug from under him, so delivered a verdict to the union’s liking.

Or, as is being sinisterly alleged by outgoing Falkirk MP Eric Joyce, he presides over a banana republic party in which Unite was able to bully key witnesses into withdrawing their allegations of corruption.

What is certain is that — with his poll lead vanishing, and some Labour MPs horrified by the cheap and cynical way he exploited the Syria vote for shortterm political gain — the Labour leader looks weaker than ever.