Political prisoner, activist, journalist, hymn-writer, emerging thinktanker, aspiring novelist, "tribal elder", 2019 parliamentary candidate for North West Durham, Shadow Leader of the Opposition, "Speedboat", "The Cockroach", eagerly awaiting the second (or possibly third) attempt to murder me.
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
The Unions And The EU Constitreaty
We don't need the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, we need a proper party like Labour of old, dedicated to securing workers' rights (among other things) through the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Instead of calling for a rigged referendum so that the BBC and the rest of the political class can hoodwink the electorate into voting Yes, the unions should be refusing to fund any MP who does not vote in Parliament both against the Constitreaty and in favour of such rights, and should instead be undertaking to fund alternative parliamentary candidates who will do so.
Good point. If the Government does actually give us a referendum, then they will also launch a massive campaign for a 'yes' vote.
ReplyDeleteTwo Unions today, I think, said that they will be campaigning for a referendum - whether or not they will use your logic though is another question entirely.
Who needs a referendum? Parliament should just throw it out. And if an MP doesn't vote for that, and/or isn't already voting for workers' rights anyway, then why is that MP receiving union funding, and why isn't that money instead being spent on running a more suitable parliamentary candidate against that MP?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you David, that if Parliament was doing its job, then there would be no need for a referendum.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as we know, Gordon Brown and a majority of Parliament have no intention - therefore that is why we must call for one.
Well, the unions should just threaten to take their money away. Which it looks as if they are pretty much doing - I have no doubt at all that exactly that is being said behind the scenes.
ReplyDeleteWell David, I hope you are very much right. The Unions do having funding as a major bargaining chip, so we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.
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