Unite votes to stay affiliated to Labour but warns ‘no blank cheques’

The trade union Unite has “overwhelmingly” rejected a motion to disaffiliate from the Labour Party.

Responding to the result, general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is the moment of maximum leverage for the union where we can hold Labour to account. Now cannot be the time to walk away. We would be weakening our own arm.

“It would be the worst time to leave the Labour Party when they are in touching distance of power, if we leave we wouldn’t influence that power.

“Labour must be Labour and the union must push them to into that position we must make them take different choices. We will not make the same mistakes of the past there will be no blank cheques for Labour until we see tangible results.”

A statement put out in advance of the vote by the union’s executive committee, and seen by Tribune, did not back the motion to disaffiliate, which it said “would not be in the interests of our union at this time – especially so close to a general election”.

The executive council of the union had already voted in October 2020 to reduce its affiliation fee to the Labour Party by 10%, and in August 2022 Graham said it was getting “harder and harder” for the union to justify funding the party.

Graham yesterday criticised the Labour party’s approach to public sector pay, saying it was “beyond belief” that the party was not committed to increasing public sector pay if elected.