Voting is now open for the next Leader and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and we are delighted to publish each candidate’s vision for working with Labour Unions.

We look forward to working with the winning team to strengthen the relationship between the Labour Party and the trade union movement at every level and working towards a Labour government that will transform the lives of working people for the better.

Click the names below to read their responses.


Rebecca Long-Bailey

Lisa Nandy

Keir Starmer


Dr Rosena Allin-Khan

Richard Burgon

Dawn Butler

Ian Murray

Angela Rayner


Rebecca Long-Bailey

What is your vision for strengthening the relationship between affiliated trade unions and the Labour Party, and how will you strengthen union members’ involvement in Party activity? 

The Labour Party is the parliamentary wing of the whole labour and trade union movement, and our path to power is in rebuilding it. Affiliated trade unions bring an invaluable amount to our party. The vast array of workers, bringing their experiences, skills, knowledge means that we are the party of the workers and have a foothold in every community. A key task of the Labour Party should be to promote and support wider trade union membership in the workforce and trade union representation in government and with employers.

Under my leadership, Labour will launch a mass trade union membership drive, supporting hundreds of thousands of young activists who have been inspired by our party to become trade unionists at work. Ensuring our movement’s community and workplace organising go hand in hand, I’ll also commission a trade union recruitment plan targeted in Red Wall seats in which we need to rebuild. Working people across all of Labour’s heartlands, from the seats we lost to our city strongholds, face the same conditions of insecurity, informal contracts, and low pay. A trade union membership drive can help rebuild the labour movement’s institutions — and with it renew the bonds of solidarity and common interest that can unite working people everywhere.

I would ensure the trade union movement grows by over a million members across a first term in government, as workplace freedoms, a Green Industrial Revolution, and our organising agenda reverses the long-term decline. Without strong trade unions, we can’t build a socialist future.

Collectivism is in the DNA of the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Unions make decisions through their own democratic decision-making processes, and then each speaks with a collective voice in the Party. How will you ensure that this collective voice of trade unions is respected, encouraged and preserved in democratic decision-making at all levels of our Party?

I believe that Annual Conference should be the sovereign policymaking body of the Labour Party. It is the largest annual gathering of Labour Party members, who are rightly delegated to attend by other members in CLPs, unions and other party bodies. It should be the representative forum in which the whole labour movement debates our political programme and resolves to unite behind those. I commit to preserving the current 50/50 conference split of affiliates and CLP delegates at Annual Conference and Women’s Conference, and ensure trade union representation at every level of our party. This has to mean TULO officers in our CLPs, trade union representation on our Regional Executive Committees, in our national equality and young labour structures and in policy making. Trade unions founded the Labour Party and it is their roots in local communities and workplaces that helps keep the Labour Party part of the fabric of our society – it is a historic and unique relationship for a political party and its healthy maintenance is vital for our survival as a political party. .

I believe that trade unions at a local level have a huge role to play, TULO officers can be a catalyst to educating labour party members about trade unions, and the link between the local Labour party and local trade union campaigns, actions and disputes. In our local councils, Labour councillors can play an important role working with local trade union branches in their local communities – and of course those representing the council workers themselves.

Trade unionists will become involved in the party if they believe they can make a difference, can improve the working lives of themselves and their peers, and enriching their wider local community through Labour Party activism.

We have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the developed world and this severely undermines the ability of trade unions to organise, recruit and act to defend the interests of their members, and means the balance of power in the workplace is tipped in the interests of employers and not working people. How would a Labour Government led by you change this? 

There have recently been notable rises in public sector trade union membership, but the picture overall remains one of long term decline – this has to change. I’ve been really clear in standing by the commitments we made in the 2019 manifesto on strengthening collective trade union freedoms and individual employment rights. In do this we will not just repeal the Trade Union Act 2016 and previous anti-trade union laws. New rights such as the right to access workplaces and workers to organise and recruit, sectoral collective bargaining and rights that end insecurity at work are amongst the pledges we made that would transform peoples lives and top the balance of power in the workplace that we must continue to fight for.

Furthermore, I announced recently that workers under my Labour government workers would have the right to unplug. This will be a key part of the aspirational socialism that I have talked about. Valuing work will just be as important as valuing leisure. I would put an end to the 24/7 work culture, and with trade unions empowered to negotiate this, we can work hard, be paid for the work we do and keep that precious time with our friends and family, uninterrupted by emails or demands. This is not radical either, there are currently laws in France, Italy, and the Philippines providing workers the right to disconnect. France introduced a right to disconnect from the use of digital tools through the El Khomri law in 2017, requiring employers with over 50 staff to negotiate with trade unions on how to give effect to this. The UK needs to catch up and under my leadership, people will have more control of their own lives, not always on the clock of employers.

As Leader of the Opposition, how would you defend employment and trade union rights, and defend and build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government?

As leader of the Labour Party, I have committed to back workers in every dispute and strike against unfair, exploitative and unjust employers. This will range from actions on opposing cuts, tackling the climate crisis, and standing up to the resurgent far-right. Standing on the side of workers and trade unions, no questions asked, is going to be crucial in standing up to this reactionary Conservative government. As Labour leader, I will be as comfortable on the picket line as at the dispatch box, and under my leadership Labour will never return to condemning striking teachers or firefighters, or to treating trade unions as if they’re embarrassing relatives of the party. I will be there every step of the way with workers and stand with them on the picket line and will have no hesitation in which side I pick.

As Labour leader, it won’t just be about winning the argument at the dispatch box, we must win the argument in local communities up and down the country. We suffered a devastating defeat in 2019 and that’s because people thought that we weren’t listening and they didn’t trust us. I am determined to rebuild our movement to win back areas and unite all of our heartlands, in all their diversity, from Blyth to Brixton. Trade unions are key to this success, branches are in every community, trade councils support local demonstrations. I understand that our communities have suffered not only under austerity, but for the last forty years. I will not let Boris Johnson succeed in attacking and undermining our trade union or employment rights any further.

Some of the most popular policies in the Party’s policy platform were core issues for the trade union movement. How would you build on these policies, and how will Labour’s vision for a better, fairer world of work form part of your conversation with the voters we need to win back to Labour?

I know that for too many people, pay is too low, work is too insecure, bills are too high, housing is too expensive, too few jobs are rewarding and many feel they won’t get the ones that are if they don’t go to university and take on massive debts. Living standards aren’t going up year on year and the next generation isn’t set to have a better life than the last. But though people have a deep desire for serious political and economic change, they don’t see how it can be achieved. That’s part of why we lost the election: we couldn’t marry our ambitious programme with voters’ fundamental lack of trust.

I don’t believe that retreating from popular policies that provide answers to the crises facing our country is a route to victory. Shrinking from our ambitions to better our children’s lives won’t make us more credible. Triangulation hasn’t worked for social democratic parties across Europe and it won’t work here. But we also have to tell a credible story of how we will help people improve their lives. And we have to recognise after a defeat like we’ve just suffered, we haven’t communicated effectively. People are right to dream of a better life for themselves, their family, their community and their class. That doesn’t mean that we support the lucky few to climb the ladder alone. It means we help everyone realise their hopes and dreams.

I believe our path to power requires us to speak an everyday language to people simply going about their normal lives. We have to understand that people want a better life for them and their children – that’s aspiration – but we can only secure that together – that’s socialism. As a party, we should be proud of people’s successes and hard work and speak to their hopes and dreams.

Our manifesto in 2019 was the single most ambitious plan to raise employment standards and wages in this country. It would’ve restarted the growth of the trade union movement and transformed working lives in this country, ending insecurity and improving pay for tens of millions of people. Through the mass trade union membership drive I mentioned above we will be able to forge our path to power by reaching into every workplace and community up and down the country and having those conversations, and convince people that Labour is their home.

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Lisa Nandy

What is your vision for strengthening the relationship between affiliated trade unions and the Labour Party, and how will you strengthen union members’ involvement in Party activity?

Trade unions are built on the knowledge and principle that we are stronger together than we are alone. Trade unions don’t just have a role to play in addressing the challenges of the modern economy and fighting the inequality that undermines it; they are utterly central to that task.

We have seen through GMB’s fight challenging the grotesque working practices in Amazon’s warehouses; the ground-breaking recognition agreement Unite have achieved with wind turbine manufacturers in Hull; or the employment tribunal fee fight that UNISON fought and won – trade unions are on the front-line of the fights that are shaping our new economy.

Trade unions have been at the forefront of the fight against austerity; on the streets, in communities and in the workplace they formed the last line of defence against the pernicious ideology which undermined so much we hold dear. Indeed, it was trade unions, rooted in our communities that raised the alarm on the Bedroom Tax and Universal Credit, and fought a determined campaign which raised public awareness.

Put simply, there is no labour movement without the millions of organised members in every community nationwide; and there is no future for a fairer economy that does not have trade unionism at its heart. Just as one hundred and twenty years ago – today trade unions and the Labour Party must be indivisible.

It is for that reason that I believe the collective strength of the four million Labour union members must always be reflected through Labour’s structures, from CLP up to candidate selection and conference decision making. There can never be a return to the days when the voice of trade unions were marginalised. Had Labour listened to trade unions the party would not have made costly mistakes with PFI and add the party would have built more council housing and not just improved the standards – important as it was.

Indeed, their voice must be promoted to the very top. The experience our convenors, shop-stewards and other active trade unionists have in bread and butter negotiations, and the real experience they have in the economy make them ideal candidates. We need to build on recent successes in encouraging and promoting trade unionists to become councillors and MPs and ensuring their experience is heard in the corridors of power. I will work with trade union affiliates to see what more can be done, including workshops, development and leadership programmes to encourage trade unionists to become candidates.

Collectivism is in the DNA of the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Unions make decisions through their own democratic decision-making processes, and then each speaks with a collective voice in the Party. How will you ensure that this collective voice of trade unions is respected, encouraged and preserved in democratic decision-making at all levels of our Party?

Union delegates, the collective voice of four million trade union members at conference, must be preserved within the Party. There is no labour movement without the trade union movement and the insight and influence our four million members have in every community and hundreds of thousands of workplaces must be reflected and respected in our democratic decision-making processes.

That means protecting the current trade union strength; protecting their integral role in the nomination process for the leadership and their role in trigger ballots. It is right that MPs are held to account by the wider movement with our affiliates and not just individual party members. Let’s spend most of our time winning back the seats we lost to the Tories.

We have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the developed world and this severely undermines the ability of trade unions to organise, recruit and act to defend the interests of their members, and means the balance of power in the workplace is tipped in the interests of employers and not working people. How would a Labour Government led by you change this?

We know some employers who are hostile to trade unions and don’t want employees to know their rights and are fearful of people working together. Similarly, there are those whose entire business models are shaped around the weaknesses of the law to pay the least tax, honour the fewest rights and believe they don’t invest in people because they see them as disposable. That can’t be our country’s future – otherwise inequality will continue to widen, in-work poverty will increase and society’s health and happiness will suffer.

While it is important that trade unions remain relevant for modern workplaces, we must recognise that the legal framework in which unions operate in contributes to lower density rates than other countries. They are some of the most restrictive in the OECD. Trade union successes have ensured a greater share of the nation’s wealth is with ordinary working people and not just shareholders. That’s the role unions can play so they need the freedoms to do the job and overcome whatever barriers are placed in front of them.

So what changes would a Labour government led by me fight for?

  • Create a clear legal right for trade unions to be able to access a workplace and inform workers about their employment rights and what trade union membership and collective bargaining can offer.
  • Give more say to workers over union recognition. Currently if an application for statutory union recognition fails then unions have to wait at least 3 years before applying again. This is much too long and it needs significantly reducing.
  • Ensure public institutions raise awareness and understanding about employment rights, the role of trade unions in society and the need for dignity, respect and a voice at work.Give workplace equalities reps statutory rights and protection like other reps so that unions can better tackle discrimination at work
  • Sectoral wage bargaining in sectors can improve pay, terms and conditions as well as develop strategies to improve work in a number of important sectors of our economy. This can also provide a floor for unions to build on.

As well as strengthening workers’ and union rights, I have argued that we must expect even more of the biggest businesses in our country. That’s why I have proposed a social license backed by law where the largest companies must reach higher standards including ensuring respecting union and worker voice, more transparency on tax, higher standards and responsibility for what happens in supply chains, more action against pollution and emissions as well as support for the communities in which they operate in. If these companies don’t meet what is reasonably expected of them by society then they will face sanctions for breaking the social license ranging from hefty fines to a range of business restrictions.

Clearly we must get back into power to set about implementing the structural changes necessary to reshape the economy to benefit working people. The recent decision by the Mayor of London to introduce a bus worker retention scheme, in close consultation with trade unions, demonstrates the enduring strength of the link when we are in power. The scheme rewards workers who stay in the job helping communities by stemming shortages, and workers by increasing pay. This is the kind of joint working between Labour, in areas we hold power, and trade unions that I will look to foster as leader of the Party.

As Leader of the Opposition, how would you defend employment and trade union rights, and defend and build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government?

We know the Government are looking to come after our collective rights, and for the first time in a generation they will have the power to weaken the collective rights which were once guaranteed through our EU membership. We know the positions of leading figures in the Government and their ideological opposition to high employment rights and standards; it is this we need to fight. Dominic Raab said paid leave, and regulations which prevent employees working over 13 hours a day “limited flexibility…[and] added to employer costs”. He called for these regulations to be scrapped altogether. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, called British workers ‘amongst the worst idlers in the world’ despite survey data showing they work harder and longer than almost all comparable European nations. The fight to prevent the race-to-the-bottom will depend on running a vigorous campaign in the media, in communities and in Parliament highlight what is at stake if the Tories seek to undermine workers’ rights.

In addition, the Queens Speech made clear that the Tories want to further restrict the rights of workers in the UK’s transport sector to fight for fair pay and conditions. Trade union rights in the UK are amongst the most restrictive in the developed world. As Ernest Bevin, the founder of the T&G said, the power to strike is not so much the power to act as the power to negotiate; the government’s proposals have the sole intention of undermining that power. Trade unions have improved pay, health & safety and working conditions and protected pensions. The Government want to curb this power and will attempt to turn the public against transport workers; this is part of a disturbing trend to reduce dissent, solidarity, scrutiny and challenge.

The whole labour movement must defend these civil liberties and defend the right of transport unions to stand up for their members and the workforce. We must also ask the right questions and highlight the actual issues behind industrial action which often get overlooked.

Some of the most popular policies in the Party’s policy platform were core issues for the trade union movement. How would you build on these policies, and how will Labour’s vision for a better, fairer world of work form part of your conversation with the voters we need to win back to Labour?

I recognise the importance of the policies included in the Labour Party manifesto to trade unions. They have come from the grassroots, been proposed by branches, debated in your unions and reflect a desire not to accept the status quo.

We need to learn the lessons and campaign for these policies all the year round and not just at election time when other issues can overshadow them. As leader I fully support working with TUC and Labour affiliated unions for a New Deal for Work in May. This gives us an opportunity to campaign together in workplaces and communities throughout the UK to show how the Conservative government will never have the answers to many of the issues which matter to so many working people. We will be able to promote many of the decent policies which will win support of people. This has to be an ongoing part of campaigning and can deepen the local relationships between CLPs and TULO unions.

Trade unions are more representative of working people than some in the media will have believe. Labour affiliated unions will therefore include plenty of members who did not vote Labour for whatever reason. I want to work with unions to not just listen to those who have supported us, but also those who did not. This would be a priority in the first six months of my leadership.

Unless we win a majority Labour government, we cannot be guaranteed to deliver the manifesto policies. The priority has to be winning and building the broadest possible coalitions behind our policy proposals. Tragically, many voters no longer feel Labour speaks for them and we have a huge amount of work to do to win back seats lost to the Conservatives before any of our ideas can be implemented. There was nothing more heart-breaking on election night than Labour losing former coalfield seats like Bolsover, Blyth Valley, Ashfield to the Tories but this is the culmination of a loss of support over a number of elections. We cannot take anyone or anywhere for granted and we cannot afford to just steady the ship.

To win over voters to our vision for a fairer future, we need to win back trust. To earn that trust means we need a leader who understands those communities and is prepared to go out, listen and bring Labour home. I have always believed lasting change starts on the ground and through the conversations we have and the differences we make. That has to be an important foundation for Labour’s recovery.

We need to raise ambitions that we don’t just have to accept things as we are and that involves asking questions. For example, how come we are one of the richest countries in the world and yet people in work are requiring so much additional help just to get the basic essentials? If zero hours contracts are so good then why aren’t any company Chief Executives on them? Why is it that so-called innovative companies such as Amazon and Uber can’t deal with workers having voice through their unions and engage with collective bargaining? Why is it that in 21st century Britain we are having to run equal pay campaigns? How come the Conservatives acknowledge we have a mental health epidemic but won’t allow people to improve the world of work which contributes to it?

Where the Tories will seek to undermine workers’ rights, we must counter that with a clear, positive vision for a fairer post-Brexit economy where workplace standards are increased, not undermined. Whether they voted leave or remain, I don’t know anyone who wanted to be more insecure at work. We need to recognise that we need to offer something bigger than individual rights – a vision for a fairer future in which we redistribute power as well as wealth and opportunity. Everyone needs to know they have a stake in our country’s future and success and in return they will have a Labour government which will work with them to break the down barriers.

Under my Leadership, I will demonstrate what a Labour Government – rooted in communities like my own – will mean for those voters we have lost.

We must demonstrate our optimistic vision for towns as well as our cities we would invest in the skills training and high-quality apprenticeships that means young people here aren’t overlooked when it comes to the well-paid jobs of the future. The towns that dug the coal and made the steel that built our great country should be building the turbines, batteries, and solar panel technology as part of a new green industrial revolution in this country. These are the high skilled, well-paid, jobs and they should be coming to towns like my own and that ambition would be at the heart of my leadership.

People deserve a Labour Party that is listening to them, and a government that is working for them. To achieve this will take a huge collective effort and trade union members will be at the heart of it. It won’t be easy or always straightforward, but when we win, we will win together. That will be my promise if I am elected Labour Leader.

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Keir Starmer

What is your vision for strengthening the relationship between affiliated trade unions and the Labour Party, and how will you strengthen union members’ involvement in Party activity? 

The first principle is to retain the collective link between the trade union movement and the Labour Party. The relationship of individual trade unionists is vital but we must also retain the collective link.

In the past the possibility of an erosion of the trade union link has caused unnecessary uncertainty. I will protect the link, because it provides the Labour Party with an essential link to millions of people in their workplaces and communities.

One of the important steps forward of the last 4 years is that we rightly celebrate the role our affiliated trade unions play in our party and in the lives of millions of working men and women up and down the country. Our unions founded our party and it is essential that they continue to play a key role as we rebuild and fight to bring about a Labour government once again.

That means working shoulder to shoulder with our unions, not just at election time when the calls go out for money or activists, but throughout the year. The link our party has with our unions gives us a unique insight into the challenges faced by working people and this will be vital in helping to win back the trust of communities across the country.

Our colleagues in the trade unions should be central not just to our campaigning, but also to policy making. If elected leader of the party, I will ensure this happens.

Collectivism is in the DNA of the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Unions make decisions through their own democratic decision-making processes, and then each speaks with a collective voice in the Party. How will you ensure that this collective voice of trade unions is respected, encouraged and preserved in democratic decision-making at all levels of our Party?

The participation of individual trade union members is essential but so is the collective voice of trade unions. This means the continued representation of trade unions at conference, on the NEC and other bodies, and working to ensure that there is continued collective representation at a local level through affiliation to CLPs. The Labour Party undergoes change over the years, but the maintenance of the unions’ collective voice must be a constant.

I want to unite the party and the wider labour movement and to ensure the historic link between party and unions is respected and protected.

I also believe that we need to ensure that the voice of all affiliated unions is heard across the movement, which is why TULO is and must remain so important. Labour Unions will be taken seriously as a collective body.

It is also incumbent upon both the leadership of the party and our trade unions to better educate our members on the vital role of our unions within our party. Furthermore, greater representation of working people in Parliament cannot be achieved without the central role of the trade union movement.  If I’m elected leader, I will set up a Labour Party College to train our next generation of councillors, AMs, MSPs and MPs and trade unionists, that will educate members on and promote the importance and values of trade unionism.

We have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the developed world and this severely undermines the ability of trade unions to organise, recruit and act to defend the interests of their members, and means the balance of power in the workplace is tipped in the interests of employers and not working people. How would a Labour Government led by you change this? 

We do have some of the most restrictive union laws in Europe – and it’s clear that Johnson’s government is intent on making them even more restrictive. We have already seen this in the Brexit legislation and by threatening the right to strike; and I have no doubt that collective trade union rights will be a constant target for this government.

Free trade unions are a defining feature of democratic societies.

We need to stand in solidarity against any attempt to weaken trade union rights. We also need to be clear that any Labour government should repeal the malicious Trade Union Act and wider Tory trade union laws.

A positive framework for modern trade union rights should include the following:

  • Allow trade unions to use secure electronic and workplace ballots.
  • Remove unnecessary restrictions on industrial action.
  • Strengthen and enforce trade unions’ right of entry to workplaces to organise, meet and represent their members and to recruit.
  • Ban union-busting, strengthen protection of trade union representatives against unfair dismissal and union members from intimidation, harassment, threats and blacklisting.
  • Repeal anti-trade union legislation including the Trade Union Act 2016 and create new rights and freedoms for trade unions to help them win a better deal for working people.
  • Simplify the law around union recognition.
  • Give union reps adequate time off for union duties.

These and other reforms should be at the core of what we are saying.

We also need to look to how we can strengthen collective union rights in a rapidly changing labour market.  By the time of the next election, let alone by the end of the decade, our working lives will be radically different to today. Whether that be through automation, AI, the changing nature of where and when people work or new policy implemented by the Tories following Brexit, the world of work is going to change.

Labour need to ensure that this does not lead to the undermining of employment rights and the growth of insecure work. To do that, we need to work with the trade union movement to develop effective ways of ensuring trade unions are at the heart of our approach and can ensure we build a fairer, more equitable economy in the decades to come – one based on core labour and trade union principles.

As Leader of the Opposition, how would you defend employment and trade union rights, and defend and build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government?

The election of a Tory government under Boris Johnson is a profound challenge for the whole labour movement. We now need to be a united and effective opposition and to take on the Tories whenever they threaten to further undermine employment rights, pay and conditions. To do that, we need to work shoulder to shoulder with the trade union movement.

We need to link our opposition to the Tories in Parliament to our mass membership of the party and to the trade union movement.

In the next five years we also risk seeing enormous change in many of our traditional industries. For too many years now Tory governments have stood idly by as our industries have seen more and more jobs go as a result of government inaction and a failure to invest.

If I am elected leader, I will be a strident defender of our industries, I will set out a bold industrial strategy and I will always champion the rights of workers and the communities we were formed to represent.

I also want our labour movement to grow – recruiting more members and in more sectors – and to unite in the face of the common threat Johnson poses to our rights and public services. That is a big challenge, but one I am determined to meet.

Some of the most popular policies in the Party’s policy platform were core issues for the trade union movement. How would you build on these policies, and how will Labour’s vision for a better, fairer world of work form part of your conversation with the voters we need to win back to Labour?

The clearest example of a policy that is popular with the public that’s also a core labour movement issue was the public ownership of the railways. Despite its popularity, it is only in recent years that the conference policy in favour of public ownership was embraced at a leadership level. We should be confident in adopting popular positions that reflect our basic principles.

We need to be clear that we did not lose the election because we promised to boost public sector pay, restore collective bargaining, give workers a real say in their workplaces, invest in our public services or end outsourcing to the private sector. We did not lose because we believe public services like the railways should be in public hands rather delivering profits for shareholders. Nor did we lose because we promised to repeal the malicious 2016 Trade Union Act and its unfair thresholds on ballots for industrial action.

We should be proud of these commitments to support and strengthen rights for working people and they should be the foundation for our approach going forward.

I want policies that chime with people and their desire to lead a better life. Trade unions are key to identifying these and helping us campaign for them.

As the world of work changes in the next 10-20 years we must ensure that our policies speak to the concerns and challenge voters experience up and down the country.

I have laid out the principles that will guide how we develop our policy prospectus going into the next election, but the detail of that policy will be developed in conjunction with TULO and our unions. There is a huge mountain to climb to get Labour back in to government, but I truly believe we can do it if we unite, as one labour movement, with Labour unions and all our affiliates leading the way in forging a radical, credible agenda for the end of the decade and beyond.

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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan

What is your vision for strengthening the relationship between affiliated trade unions and the Labour Party, and how will you strengthen union members’ involvement in Party activity?

The relationship enjoyed between the Labour Party and our affiliated trade union partners over the years has led to remarkable victories for working people. This mutually beneficial relationship enables the Labour Party to have direct access to workers across a variety of industries, championing issues which truly affect them. Trade unions and their members then have a unified voice in Parliament, turning ideas into policy.

The Labour Party is unique in the UK in that we have a pool of talented trade union officials who have years of experience fighting damaging policies in the workplace. These members know first-hand what is needed to ensure better protections for working people.

Nationally, Labour has a strong relationship with our trade union representatives, but I want to see this partnership strengthened at a local and regional level. As a Party, we must ensure we are adequately supporting CLPs and union branches outside of the major cities by not just running campaigns from London. We must listen to regional feedback and concerns, and ensure we adapt our message to communicate more effectively without compromising on our vision. By strengthening the local link between Labour and our trade unions, we can ensure that our message cuts through in the seats we’ve lost and those we need to win.

We have a vast array of talent in our party and trade union movement, from policy gurus to social media experts. As Deputy Leader, I will work with regional branches and ensure they are connected with CLPs and are utilising members’ talents. Policy must be built from the ground up, not dictated by head office.

A strong trade union movement, supplemented by a unified Labour voice in Parliament can win again, and as Deputy Leader I would work every day to realise this.

Collectivism is in the DNA of the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Unions make decisions through their own democratic decision-making processes, and then each speaks with a collective voice in the Party. How will you ensure that this collective voice of trade unions is respected, encouraged and preserved in democratic decision-making at all levels of our Party?

Ensuring trade unions have a democratic say in how the Labour Party is run, organised and on policy, is absolutely key to maintaining the close relationship we have enjoyed over the last 100 years. I believe the structures in place currently, with regards to national representation, works extremely well. The TULO Committee ensures that trade union leaders have a seat at the top table of the Party and trade union involvement on Labour’s NEC and National Policy Forum ensure they are heavily involved in decision making at a national level. Trade union representation at Party Conference also ensures the concerns of working people are properly discussed in the Party. These procedures must be protected.

Where I would like to see the collective voice of trade unions better represented is at the regional and local levels of our Party. The rapid de-industrialisation of vital industry across all regions of the UK has resulted in the UK becoming one of the most regionally divided economies in the world. With industry, investment and infrastructure projects heavily focused in London and the South East it has ensured the demise of so many vital industries in the rest of the UK. Our messaging is not cutting through in many of these places.

To help communicate effective messages, we need to be utilising our local links. This means more communication with Labour councillors, local members, and affiliated trade union branches. Local people often have the most innovative solutions to local problems. They understand the needs of their area more than anyone else and union branches understand the concerns of the local workforce. I am committed to rebuilding the Labour Party’s local links with our affiliates to ensure we get our messaging right at a regional level and win back the seats we’ve lost.

We have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the developed world and this severely undermines the ability of trade unions to organise, recruit and act to defend the interests of their members, and means the balance of power in the workplace is tipped in the interests of employers and not working people. How would you ensure a Labour Government would change this?

As a proud trade unionist myself, I fully understand and appreciate the vital role that trade unions play in the modern democratic state. Trade unions do not just protect the rights of those they represent, they also work to drive political engagement amongst their members through education and support. Trade unions laid the foundations for the Labour Party and their ability to effectively organise, recruit and educate new members is crucial if Labour are to win power again.

After consecutive Conservative governments have shamelessly legislated to weaken the strength of our unions for their own political gain, I am committed to ensuring our trade unions are strong and can organise effectively to help tackle the modern challenges facing our workplace. If elected into Government, I would immediately work to repeal the Trade Union Act and other anti-union legislation, such as the Lobbying Act and the recent plans unveiled by Grant Shapps to prevent transport workers the right to strike. We must give a greater voice to working people.

How would you defend employment and trade union rights, and defend and build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government?

The Tories and Lib Dems have shamelessly curtailed the democratic rights of workers to organise and strike over the last 10 years. The UK’s trade union movement was once the envy of Europe, but now we have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the world. The Conservatives know that Labour’s strength lies in our trade union movement and will always work to damage it. We now face another five years of a hostile Tory government seeking to weaken our movement.

During this Parliament, we must ensure we first form a strong opposition to the government. We can only stand up for workers’ rights and defend the trade union movement if we are a united opposition and we scrutinise all damaging legislation which will come out of Boris Johnson’s right-wing government. I am the only Deputy Leader candidate who has not nominated a Leader – I will work with whoever is elected Leader to unify the party against the Tories.

With growing concerns regarding automation, climate change and Brexit, it is now more important than ever to grow the trade union movement across the UK. As Deputy Leader, I will meet regularly with our affiliated unions and their members, at all structural levels, to stay informed of their policy objectives and to discuss how I, and the Labour Party, can best support them.

Some of the most popular policies in the Party’s policy platform were core issues for the trade union movement. How would you build on these policies, and how will Labour’s vision for a better, fairer world of work form part of your conversation with the voters we need to win back to Labour?

I am proud of the 2019 manifesto which offered a true vision of hope and a real programme of change. Our policies regarding the world of work were popular and this is a great credit to our trade union partners who I know contributed heavily to the development of these policies.

We are the party of the workers and our policy platform must always reflect this. In the 21st century, the world of work is changing rapidly. We must be developing policies which tackle complex issues like automation and its impact on workers.

The advancement of technology should be celebrated amongst workers, however it is often feared. As technology advances, too many workers are finding themselves becoming expendable commodities to their employers, replaced by algorithms and automation. We must ensure we have policies ready to tackle this before it’s too late.

With improved technology, I would endeavour to work with our trade union partners to encourage the retraining and re-skilling of existing staff to ensure our workforce remains highly skilled, ensuring the continual improvement of the industries and services that workers provide.

Technology should not be utilised as an excuse not to pay wages. It should support workers, improve their working conditions, better their work-life balance and create more jobs than it replaces. To achieve this, I am committed to working with trade unions to protect workers from being replaced with automation and committed to guaranteeing this protection through government legislation.

To win back workers who left us, we must ensure our policies are tackling the modern problems workers are faced with. We need a long-term industrial strategy that shows workers we are on their side. This strategy must reflect regional differences in the world of work, but it must cohesively fit into a national narrative.

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Richard Burgon

What is your vision for strengthening the relationship between affiliated trade unions and the Labour Party, and how will you strengthen union members’ involvement in Party activity?

Our Party members and trade union affiliates ensure we’re rooted in the realities of our communities. As Deputy Leader I will fight to empower members and trade unions to have a much greater democratic say over our party including:

Ensuring MPs reflect the concerns of local working people: I fully back Open Selection. I am the only Deputy Leader candidate – and was the first of all the candidates in these elections – to call for this. We need a fully democratic system for members and trade unions to select their Labour candidates at each and every election. If we are to reconnect with lost voters, then Labour members from those areas must be able to choose the parliamentary candidate they think can best connect with their community.

A greater say for unions in determining our campaigning focus: I will be a campaigning Deputy Leader.  I want party members and the trade unions to have much more in control of the campaigns we launch. As Deputy Leader I will fight to keep the radical policies of our manifesto – but we need to explain our policies better on the doorstep. I am proposing that we focus campaigning around 10 key policies that are easily explainable on the doorstep.  I would ensure a democratic process so that it is members and trade unions who decide these 10 policies.

A stronger voice for unions on the NEC: I think the Democracy Review made some positive steps forward but there is a long way to go and I would take forward a wider range of proposals for a more democratic party. For example, I would like to see more trade union and grassroots members on the NEC.

Collectivism is in the DNA of the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Unions make decisions through their own democratic decision-making processes, and then each speaks with a collective voice in the Party. How will you ensure that this collective voice of trade unions is respected, encouraged and preserved in democratic decision-making at all levels of our Party?

The collective voice of trade unions should be encouraged not scorned and I am pleased that over the last few years Trade Unions are much more respected by our leadership and not just used as a cash cow when elections come around.

I would like to build on this and ensure unions remain a vital part of our policy and decision making at all levels in the party.

I have been concerned about divisions between trade unions and CLP delegates at conferences in recent years and believe that we need to educate members more about the importance of the unions’ collective voice.

We have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the developed world and this severely undermines the ability of trade unions to organise, recruit and act to defend the interests of their members, and means the balance of power in the workplace is tipped in the interests of employers and not working people. How would you ensure a Labour Government would change this?

The Trade Union Act must be repealed. The disgraceful barriers to organising and taking industrial action are an attack on basic workers’ freedoms.  Unions should not be shackled  from being able to properly defend and advance the safety, pay and terms and conditions of their members.

If elected Deputy Leader I would fight to ensure that the repealing of the Trade Union Act and empowering trade unions with the introduction of new collective rights remains a firm commitment of any future Labour Government.

Moreover, I would run a programme of political education, materials and discussion forums on the need for us to oppose all anti-trade union laws and to empower trade unions with new rights. Of course, such changes are not likely in the short term but we must be building up the movement now to achieve this at a later date.

How would you defend employment and trade union rights, and defend and build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government

Before being an MP, I was a trade union lawyer for a decade working with union reps in Employment Tribunals and in workplaces to defend their members’ rights against bad bosses. I will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with workers demanding their rights. I believe that workers’ collective rights, as well as individual rights, need to be advanced as part of a fundamental and irreversible shift in wealth, power and control in favour of working people.

It is clear that we will not get better trade union rights under the Tory government and so our first job must be to head off outrageous attacks by Boris Johnson’s new government such as attempts to curtail the right of transport workers to strike. If this attack is successful it will only be the thin end of the wedge.

Regarding how we build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government, I think the Party has a key role to play in supporting unions to target younger workers and those at the sharp end of the “Americanisation” of our workplaces, with practices such as zero-hour contracts. I am delighted to have been nominated for Deputy Leader by the Bakers Union (BFAWU) which has played such a central role in organising the Mcdonalds workers, which is a real example of how this can be done.

Our unions will grow and become stronger standing up to this Tory government’s attacks on workers’ rights. If elected Deputy Leader I would encourage all CLPs to organize solidarity delegations of members to picket lines of major national strikes such as the latest UCU wave of action. We need a visible showing that Labour is there, standing shoulder to shoulder with those forced by the government or bullying bosses to take action.

I believe political education in our party is woefully inadequate and I would organise solidarity speaker tours to CLPs, Facebook live discussions and solidarity cultural events to raise awareness in our movement of such strike actions.

Some of the most popular policies in the Party’s policy platform were core issues for the trade union movement. How would you build on these policies, and how will Labour’s vision for a better, fairer world of work form part of your conversation with the voters we need to win back to Labour?

I fully back the 2017 and 2019 manifestos which continue to offer real solutions to the problems our communities face and which will deepen with five more years of Tory misrule.

As your question points out, our policy platform is built on union core values such as a £10 per hour minimum wage, the renationalisation of rail, mail and water, and the Green Industrial Revolution.

I do not believe that we lost the election because of these policies such, in fact these policies are part of how we rebuild support. For example our Green Industrial Revolution can help unite voters in small towns and big cities by both tackling the climate emergency and creating much-needed manufacturing jobs in communities that have been hit hard, first by deindustrialistion and then by austerity.

Great policies, however, aren’t enough. I called for a pledge card in the recent elections so that we had a focussed message on the doorstep.

I want to build a Labour Party rooted in every community whereby the everyday concerns of working people – be that wages, poor public services, inequality and discrimination,  or concerns about the environment – are reflected in our campaigning focus. As Deputy Leader, I’ll overhaul our organisation, campaigning and messaging to focus on 10 key policies that are easily explainable on the doorstep and can be an organising focus for our members.

As a candidate for Deputy Leader, I have proposed that our Party needs a new, modern Clause IV hardwiring support for public ownership and opposition to privatisation into the constitution of our Party. Trade unions know all too well what damage privatisation has done and is doing. All the other candidates for Deputy Leader have spoken out in opposition to my proposal.

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Dawn Butler

What is your vision for strengthening the relationship between affiliated trade unions and the Labour Party, and how will you strengthen union members’ involvement in Party activity?

I am proud to have come into Parliament from the trade union movement having worked for PCS, TUC and GMB. I also served for 10 years as the GMB’s National Race Equality Officer so know first-hand of the vital relationship between Labour and the union movement.

Strengthening the ties that bond us will be a priority for me as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

I believe we must develop and deepen our relationship with affiliated unions and must integrate the unions more closely in decision making. I will ensure that every single one of our affiliated trade unions always has a direct line to me as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

Organisationally I believe we can also do more than having a single Trade Union Liaison Officer responsible for working with our affiliated unions. We must integrate union members into the day to day life of the Labour Party. We need to better engage union members in our work and communicate pro-actively with them to further build our movement.

Collectivism is in the DNA of the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Unions make decisions through their own democratic decision-making processes, and then each speaks with a collective voice in the Party. How will you ensure that this collective voice of trade unions is respected, encouraged and preserved in democratic decision-making at all levels of our Party?

We must ensure that every single one of our affiliated trade unions have an equal voice within the Labour Party. I believe that too often much of the focus is on the big three unions however we must be sure to work with everyone as equal partners at every level of the Labour Party.

We have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the developed world and this severely undermines the ability of trade unions to organise, recruit and act to defend the interests of their members, and means the balance of power in the workplace is tipped in the interests of employers and not working people. How would you ensure a Labour Government would change this?

It is shocking that according to the International Trade Union Rights Index the UK is categorised as having regular violations of trade union rights by the Government and for having deficient laws and legal practices. This is unacceptable for any developed country or otherwise.

This is why it is essential that a Labour government immediately repeal anti-trade union legislation especially the Trade Union Act 2016. We must also look at historical legislation stretching as far back as the 80s including the Employment Acts of 1980, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1990 all of which restrict union activity in one form or another.

How would you defend employment and trade union rights, and defend and build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government?

As I’ve said, we need to build the trade union and Labour movement together better integrating union members into the day to day life of the Labour Party. I believe that we must carry out a democracy review that is specifically charged to examine how we better integrate trade unions, their members and amplify their voice throughout the Labour Party as a whole.

I do not believe that we should wait until we form a Labour government to challenge the Tories on their hostile anti-trade union policies. We must be an effective and pro-active Opposition using all the tools available to us. This includes working in the House of Commons to actively challenge anti-trade union legislation via any means necessary and campaigning for it to be repealed.

Some of the most popular policies in the Party’s policy platform were core issues for the trade union movement. How would you build on these policies, and how will Labour’s vision for a better, fairer world of work form part of your conversation with the voters we need to win back to Labour?

I was proud to stand for election on our 2019 manifesto and I am committed to retaining its progressive policies such as a Real Living Wage of at least £10 per hour, restoring public sector pay to pre-financial crash levels and giving everyone equal rights at work from day one.

As Deputy Leader, I will also ensure that our party is working all year round continually and pro-actively with our affiliated trade unions as an integral part of the policy-making process. As the voice of millions of workers across this country I believe trade unions are best placed to help us build on our progressive policy platform to ensure all our policies are developed with workers in mind.

I am also proud to have developed Labour’s flexible working policy championing the right to flexible working for everyone from day one; and if the job cannot be done flexibly the company has to demonstrate why that is the case.

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Ian Murray

What is your vision for strengthening the relationship between affiliated trade unions and the Labour Party, and how will you strengthen union members’ involvement in Party activity?

The Labour Party is the parliamentary wing of the trade union movement. The presence of trade unions with a formal role in the Labour Party has enriched our party over the past century. I never want to see that diminished or undermined.

We need to maintain the voice of trade unions at every level of our party. From our CLPs through to the National Executive Committee and Party Conference. There are three ways I would involve the trade unions as Deputy Leader.

First, in policy making. We need to strengthen the role of trade unions in our policy making process. This should not just be in the formal process as part of the National Policy Forum or at Conference, but in ongoing discussions between trade unions and all members of the Shadow Cabinet. I did this when I was the Shadow Minister for Employee Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs when I had the relevant Trades Unions at the heart of all we did in policy making.

Second, in the way that we organise. Trade Unions have supported the party through thick and thin at election time. But our relationship needs to be deeper than this. We need real involvement at every level of our party – from CLPs right up to national conference. We need to do so much more to engage individual trades union members at local level. I do an annual event with USDAW members in South Edinburgh that involves exchanging ideas in a social environment. It works well. I have also been conducting street stalls on trade union issues that have worked very well indeed.

Finally, through the trade unions we need to connect with the millions of working people you represent. If Labour is to win again, we are going to need policies that can speak to people up and down the country and we win need to win the arguments workplace by workplace. Our affiliated trade unions are the connection between our party and those people we need to win back to Labour over the coming years.

Collectivism is in the DNA of the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Unions make decisions through their own democratic decision-making processes, and then each speaks with a collective voice in the Party. How will you ensure that this collective voice of trade unions is respected, encouraged and preserved in democratic decision-making at all levels of our Party?

Trade Unions should have a central role in deciding the party’s programme and in setting our direction. That means engaging trade unions in every part of the party – from campaigning through to constituency meetings. Too often, constituency parties do not fully engage their trade union members. Strengthening this connection between local parties and local trade unions would be a step towards increasing the connection between our party and men and women in workplaces throughout the country.

Party Conference should be the sovereign decision-making body of the Labour Party. The scenes at last year’s conference where members attacked trade union delegates was a disgrace. I don’t ever want to see individual members on the Conference platform call into question the role of Trade Unions in our conference. Last year’s remarks by many delegates were appalling and bely a complete lack of understanding of the Labour movement and the central role of the trade unions.

We have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the developed world and this severely undermines the ability of trade unions to organise, recruit and act to defend the interests of their members, and means the balance of power in the workplace is tipped in the interests of employers and not working people. How would you ensure a Labour Government would change this?

Redressing the balance of power between employers and working people starts with electing a Labour Government. The scale of the challenge Labour faces at the next election is significant. We are not going to win power at the next General Election by maintaining the status quo or by being timid in response to the challenges we face as a party or as a country. Short term and zero-hour contracts, contractual work, insecure employment have all transferred the risk of business from the employer to the employee. This can’t be fair in a civilised society (I commissioned the “Pickavance” report in 2013 to ban the use of zero hour contracts). Where we have a strong working partnership between the trades union movement and employers the businesses thrive. A fundamental principle of good business has to be the story of how trades unions help drive the bottom line. It is not an either or situation but a fundamental component of successful business.

My first priority as Deputy Leader is to understand what went wrong. That is why I will visit every nation and region of Britain before the next Labour Party Conference and meet voters, members, supporters and trade unionists to hear their analysis of why Labour did so badly in 2019. However, listening does not go far enough. If people are to believe that we are serious about winning again, we also need to act on what people tell us. That is why I will use what I learn to provide a report to Labour Party Conference in September with a series of recommendations for the future and a plan to change our party to make it an election winning machine again. I don’t believe there are any quick fixes, but we must start immediately if we are to have any chance of success at the next election.

My second priority is standing up for every part of Britain. It troubles me that while Labour did well in cities, our vote collapsed in our towns and coastal communities. In Scotland we were wiped out for a second time and all over the country we lost seats which we had held for generations. Too many people feel that politics in Westminster has become distant from them and their lives. We’ve known this for years, but our party hasn’t done nearly enough to bridge that gap. We need to be a party of the whole of Britain or we will never win again. That means, firstly, standing up for the UK and standing against Scottish independence. The continuation of the UK is a fight for all parts of the Labour Party – not just in Scotland. Second, we need to reform Labour’s network of regional and national offices to give them far more power and ability to make decisions for their own areas. Decisions about what happens across the country should be taken at a regional level, using the knowledge and expertise of our talented staff and activists. Finally, we must build broad coalitions. I have only ever won my seat in Edinburgh South by never assuming that people wouldn’t vote Labour – I go after every vote. As a party, we need to do the same and build coalitions of support that can sustain us from election to election.

My final priority would be transforming the culture of our party and dealing with bullying, harassment and anti-Semitism. As a party, we should always engage in debate, but that should never stray into bullying. In recent years, the party has failed to get a grip of accusations of bullying, harassment and anti-Semitism. I will take responsibility for rooting out any bullying, harassment and anti-Semitism across our party and will demand weekly progress reports on complaints to ensure that we can never be accused of complacency on this issue again.

I was very attracted to the German model of co-determination and sectorial bargaining as I see that as a modern way forward that looks at the need to underpin wages, terms and conditions on a collective scale whilst having a stake in the company. This is something the Labour Party should seriously consider.

We also have to look to the future and what the future of work looks like. The Labour Party must embrace technology in terms of artificial intelligence and automation and see how that relates to improving working conditions and secure, highly skilled, highly paid jobs. How does the education system respond? How will we reskill the workforce? How will trades unions organise in future workplaces? These are all major challenges that we will have to meet together.

How would you defend employment and trade union rights, and defend and build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government?

As the political arm of the Trade Union movement, the Labour Party has been, and always will be at the forefront of the fight for better rights and conditions for those at work in this country. The right to organise within your workplace, and to organise collectively, has been the catalyst for social progress for centuries, but the Tories’ draconian measures designed to suffocate and restrict trade unions has made standing up for workers’ rights more difficult.

In government, Labour should, without apology, stand up for workers in this country. As deputy leader, I would be at the forefront of the fight for workers’ rights in the United Kingdom, whilst standing in solidarity with workers across Europe and the world. That means scrapping the pernicious Trade Union Act. I was Shadow Minister for Employee Relations when this Bill was going through and we did everything we could to stop it and establish proper partnership working between Government and Trade Unions.

I can’t see us being able to stop the Tory Government with their 80 seat majority but that doesn’t mean to say we don’t hold them to account for every letter in every law and try to use the time to win the arguments in the country.

Some of the most popular policies in the Party’s policy platform were core issues for the trade union movement. How would you build on these policies, and how will Labour’s vision for a better, fairer world of work form part of your conversation with the voters we need to win back to Labour?

The Labour Party has always stood up for the people in this country that need us most, from the founding of the NHS under a Labour Government in 1948 to the creation of the minimum wage under a Labour government in 1998. We were right to commit to reversing the harsh austerity measures imposed by the Coalition and Tory governments that have harmed so many people, and I was proud to stand on a manifesto that committed to investment in public services, infrastructure, health and education. It is investment that this country desperately needs, that it is being deprived of by this Conservative government.

But whilst we know we can deliver the change that this country needs when we are in government, the election result shows that public do not believe it to be the case. We must do better at communicating our vision to voters; we need to get out in every region and nation of the United Kingdom to listen to what voters want, and what they care about, and consider and reflect on the what they tell us when we ask them to vote Labour and they say that they cannot. In order to achieve government, we should not only commit to a radical transformation of society but we must also work at convincing voters that they can trust us to follow through on our promises.

I thought the Green policies were transformations and the analysis that the economy does not work for the majority of people in the country was the right analysis. We must continue with that analysis and provide the solutions of the future. Automation, artificial intelligence, the world of work, skills, public service provision, climate change, and how we deal with our demographic problems are all challenges we must face.

I also think the renationalisation agenda was where the public are but we need to make the case more robustly and also look at other forms of not for profit ownership like employee ownership, social enterprises, co-operatives etc. We can learn a lot form the best practice in the trades unions movement.

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Angela Rayner

What is your vision for strengthening the relationship between affiliated trade unions and the Labour Party, and how will you strengthen union members’ involvement in Party activity?

I’m a working class woman who’s grown up in the trade union movement. I became who I am today thanks to the trade union movement, having first joined Unison when I was a home carer in Stockport at the age of 21, before going on to work as a union official, representing thousands of members as an elected Regional Convenor in the North West.

I wasn’t just standing on picket lines I was organising them. As I’ve said before – I wasn’t born into the movement but I was made in it.

The union movement is how I came to politics – because I saw the difference I could make issue by issue, case by case, workplace by workplace. But I discovered that working people needed more power and that’s why I got active in the Labour party.

So of course I see the link between the Labour Party and our affiliated trade unions as fundamental to everything we stand for. My personal experience tells me we need a strong Labour Party trade union link and we definitely need more trade unionists involved in the party.

As deputy leader I would work with the affiliated unions to ensure that they and their members were able to engage in the party at every level.

At this election, thousands of people who have always put their trust in Labour left us, many trade unionists amongst them. One part of rebuilding trust is ensuring that we put forward politicians who sound like the people we want to represent, we need people who know what real life is like so that when voters look at us they know we understand their lives. So that’s one of the many reasons I want more trade unionists like me on the green benches, in council chambers, and town and city halls.

That’s why I think we need more support for working class candidates to stand for election, including training and financial resources. I know how tough it is to do it. Some trade unions alongside TULO are doing great work on this but there is more that can be done.

I want to see our party structures opened up. We must have a programme of political education and events which allow members to discuss issues and to talk about how everyday socialism can transform people’s lives. I want to see local, regional and the national party learning from some of the great work being done by unions on how we get members more involved. I want to see a movement solidarity where we work together much more closely – developing a movement culture – where Party members join us in the workplace, where trade unionists are out on the doorstep and are all are organising in the communities together. I know that does happen now, but I want to learn from the best examples and make sure it happens in a much more structured and consistent way rather than where a few good people decide to make it happen.

As a former union rep myself I have prioritised meeting with and hearing from trade unionists on the frontline as an MP and shadow cabinet minister. I know that it is often workers who have the best ideas about how their workplaces or industries can be run better. Our link with the union movement is one of our party’s biggest strengths and as deputy leader I would prioritise working with our unions on every aspect of my work.

Collectivism is in the DNA of the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Unions make decisions through their own democratic decision-making processes, and then each speaks with a collective voice in the Party. How will you ensure that this collective voice of trade unions is respected, encouraged and preserved in democratic decision-making at all levels of our Party?

Because I am a trade unionist I understand the very important role of collectivism in trade union decision making. It’s where my first experience of collectivism came from. Collective decision making of the trade unions should be respected within all levels of Labour party democratic structures.

I have been extremely concerned in recent years by some of the conflict between party members and trade union members in particular on this issue at conference. Not only must the right of trade unions to vote based on their own collective decision making processes be protected, but I think we need some urgent political education which addresses this.

We have some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the developed world and this severely undermines the ability of trade unions to organise, recruit and act to defend the interests of their members, and means the balance of power in the workplace is tipped in the interests of employers and not working people. How would you ensure a Labour Government would change this?

As a former union rep, I’ve seen for myself the practical impact of the draconian anti-union legislation on our ability to recruit and organise workers and therefore address wider inequality. I am not only committed to repealing the 2016 trade union act and other anti-union legislation but I also want to bring forward a new vision for workplace rights that is truly fit for the 21st century.

The weakening of trade union rights over the last decades has seen a corresponding significant increase in inequality. Working people’s power over their working lives has reduced and we have seen a massive expansion of insecure work and low pay.

The solution to this is increased trade union rights and collective bargaining, so I stand by our commitments on rights at work and would want to see any future Labour government introducing new laws focused on those collective rights.

That includes not just increasing sectoral collective bargaining, but also new ways for trade unions to organise including statutory access and modernising outdated industrial action legislation.

Working together with TULO, Labour can bring forward a positive new deal for our workforce, meaning that our values are promoted and championed in workplaces and communities up and down the UK.

How would you defend employment and trade union rights, and defend and build the trade union movement under a hostile Tory government?

We need to be on the frontline of challenging every decision. Making sure that the voice of organised workers is heard at all levels.

We must scrutinise every decision, challenge every cut, defend our industries and jobs and expose the true impact of this Tory government.

We need to talk to people who have lost their faith in Labour, listen and communicate how Labour policies and a Labour government would make a real difference to working people’s lives. We need to build a narrative that isn’t just about a retail offer of policies but why it is our ideas that will deliver a better life for people – what I call everyday socialism.

We need more trade union voices talking about this, up and down the country, in workplaces and communities.

Some of that will be me and our party supporting what trade unions are doing in workplaces across the UK. Because when you win your fight for a living wage, sick pay, better parental leave, more secure contracts you are showing the very real impact the Labour movement can make when we unite.

Some of the most popular policies in the Party’s policy platform were core issues for the trade union movement. How would you build on these policies, and how will Labour’s vision for a better, fairer world of work form part of your conversation with the voters we need to win back to Labour?

As Shadow Education Secretary, I am proud of the work we did across our movement, developing manifesto policies that would have changed the lives of millions of people. I fully support a direction for travel that delivers our Socialist policies in an ordinary, everyday way that people understand and engage with.

I will be honest: In 2019, I think we had many, many good policies but that we did not manage to make the case to the electorate for them as a package. We need to learn from that. I want us to have much more of an overarching narrative and real stories to tell about the policies we propose; people have to see and believe how something we’re talking about nationally would benefit them and their everyday lives. Too often if we’re honest, we’ve presented policies in an academic way that makes us seem out of touch. I’m a working class woman who has lived a real life – I know how to speak to the people we need to convince, and I can do it with honesty and authenticity because I’ve been there.

I know we can convince people. That’s one of the reasons I’m putting myself forward to be Deputy Leader, so I can be a common-sense voice right at the heart of the Shadow Cabinet table.

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