Retention of political funds gets go-ahead
Members of two unions overwhelmingly backed their political funds in recently concluded ballots.
Members of the BECTU broadcast union voted by 90% in favour of retaining the fund, although the turnout was only 17%.
And members of the Fire Brigades Union, which remains unaffiliated to the Labour Party, voted by 84% in favour. The FBU cut its ties from the Labour Party a decade ago in June 2004.
BECTU is affiliated to Labour, but says it currently affiliates fewer than half of its political fund subscribers to the party. It says it is likely to ask all contributors if they wish to become “affiliated supporters” under the reforms recently agreed on this issue (see Labour Research, March 2104, page 7).
The Lobbying Act means that, from 19 September this year, unions (and charities) must register with the Electoral Commission as non-political lobbyists if they intend spending more than £20,000 in England on lobbying before elections, or £10,000 in the other UK nations. They are then subject to strict supervisions and spending limits.
While BECTU says it is unlikely to spend anything like these threshold amounts, it is expecting closer inspection of its accounts. During the ballot it urged members to support the fund “so that all lobbying work could be unambiguously financed by money ear-marked for the purpose”.