Expelling fascists

It is now lawful for unions to exclude or expel members on the grounds of their activities as members of a political party.

The relevant legislation, section 33 of the Employment Relations Act 2004, came into force on 31 December 2004. The grounds for expulsion or exclusion relate to the activities of a party member and not to party membership per se.

Last year in ASLEF v Lee (see Labour Research Vol 93 No 11), the EAT held that the union had acted unlawfully by expelling British National Party (BNP) member Lee based on allegations that he had harassed members of the Anti-Nazi League and racist statements he had made in the BNP magazine Spearhead.

However, the legislation is not restricted to fascist parties - unions will be able to expel members for activities "contrary to a rule or objective of the union" as members of any political party.

For details of the Act, visit www.dti.gov.uk/er/er_act_2004