Labour is accused of being ‘under the thumb’ of its trade union ‘paymasters’ – as more than half of Keir Starmer’s MPs took donations totalling £1.8m since the general election was called.H
More than half of Keir Starmer‘s MPs took union cash to help them fight the election.
Of the 404 Labour MPs, 213 raked in a whopping £1.8 million from union bosses since the election was called in May.
It is the first time the scale of union donations to MPs in the new Government has been laid bare, sparking fresh accusations last night that Labour was ‘under the thumb’ of its ‘paymasters’ amid inflation-busting pay rises being offered with no strings attached.
It also raised fears about pro-trade union laws – such as beefing up workers’ rights and repealing anti-strike legislation – being waved through with little scrutiny.
It comes after the Aslef rail union announced a wave of fresh walkouts on Friday – just 48 hours after being offered a bumper 14.25 per cent pay rise, taking the average train driver’s salary to £69,000.
Of the 404 Labour MPs, 213 raked in a whopping £1.8 million from union bosses since the election was called in May
More than half of Keir Starmer’s (pictured) MPs took union cash to help them fight the election
Striking Junior Doctors hold a protest rally in Whitehall outside Downing street on August 11, 2023
It sets Britons up for another autumn of misery, with Heathrow’s Border Force guards also saying they will strike from the end of the month.
And teachers, GPs, junior doctors, nurses and other rail unions look set to push for more money despite already being offered inflation-busting pay hikes.
The analysis shows that several more hundreds of thousands of pounds of donations were accepted by Labour MPs before the election was called.
Former home secretary James Cleverly said: ‘This shows the alarming extent to which the Labour Party is under the thumb of its union paymasters.
‘Keir Starmer’s MPs have pocketed almost £2 million from unions, whilst taxpayers are forced to fund Labour’s inflation-busting pay awards to those very same unions. How much longer will Keir Starmer sell influence like this?’
Fellow Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick said: ‘Aslef has humiliated the Government. It’s the height of incompetence to give a 15 per cent pay rise without a condition that they wouldn’t then just strike on some other issue. It’s pathetic.
Former home secretary James Cleverly said: ‘This shows the alarming extent to which the Labour Party is under the thumb of its union paymasters’
Fellow Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick said: ‘Aslef has humiliated the Government’
Aslef rail union announced a wave of fresh walkouts on Friday – just 48 hours after being offered a bumper 14.25 per cent pay rise, taking the average train driver’s salary to £69,000
‘The unions can all bank their cash and will carry on striking anyway. Now every other union has been given a green light to demand double-digit pay rises and then strike if they don’t get it.’
Most of the Labour MPs who have taken union cash since the election was called are part of the party’s new intake.
Among them is Liam Conlon, who raked in £28,000 of donations, including £4,000 from Aslef.
He is the son of Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, and was made a parliamentary private secretary – or ministerial aide – to the Department for Transport, despite being an MP for only a few weeks.
Mr Conlon’s total was second only to Claire Hazelgrove, the newly elected MP for Filton and Bradley. She received more than £33,000 from the Unison, Unite, Usdaw and GMB unions.
Jayne Kirkham, the newly elected MP for Truro and Falmouth, received £27,500 in donations from the CWU, GMB, Unison and Unite unions. The donations were mostly for expenditure towards running election campaigns, with some going towards office costs.
Liam Conlon, raked in £28,000 of donations, including £4,000 from Aslef
Cabinet ministers also cashed in, the analysis shows. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner accepted £13,000 in donations, including from the militant RMT rail union, while fellow Cabinet colleague Jo Stevens, the Welsh Secretary, banked £8,000
Cabinet ministers also cashed in, the analysis shows. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner accepted £13,000 in donations, including from the militant RMT rail union, while fellow Cabinet colleague Jo Stevens, the Welsh Secretary, banked £8,000.
The sums are detailed in the MPs’ register of interests, which was published for the first time for the new Parliament on Friday.
Separately analysis shows that Cabinet ministers have received more than £500,000 in union donations in the past five years.
Of these, Ms Rayner has the highest total – more than £144,000 since 2019. It comes after it emerged that Labour’s capitulation to the unions’ wage demands will leave Britain with a £14 billion bill – much of it met by taxpayers.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves had planned to set aside £10 billion for public sector pay rises.
But devastating analysis yesterday revealed how looming increases for GPs, nurses, teachers and other workers could see the bill soar by another 40 per cent, The Mail on Sunday reported.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves had planned to set aside £10 billion for public sector pay rises. But devastating analysis yesterday revealed the bill soar by another 40 per cent
Last week Transport Secretary Louise Haigh approved a 14.25 per cent pay deal for train drivers over three years without any concessions on reforming the system
Last week Transport Secretary Louise Haigh approved a 14.25 per cent pay deal for train drivers over three years without any concessions on reforming the system.
Only two days later, Aslef announced further rail strikes on the East Coast Mainline, connecting London to Edinburgh, sparking accusations that Sir Keir has lost control of his union ‘paymasters’ just weeks into his premiership.
Labour confirmed last month that it will re-nationalise the railways, a wish of the unions for decades. It has also pledged to repeal anti-strike laws introduced by the Tory administration designed to limit the impact of walkouts.
Meanwhile, a suite of new workers’ rights laws will be introduced after intense lobbying by unions, including scrapping zero-hours contracts and making access to sick pay and other benefits available from day one.
It will also include a new right for staff to ‘switch off’ outside of working hours and not be contacted by their employer.
A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘All donations are declared in accordance with parliamentary and Electoral Commission rules.’
