Statement on the Unite Policy Conference – Invitation of Sir Keir Starmer

The decision by the leadership of Unite to invite Sir Keir Starmer to address their policy conference is a slap in the face for workers across the country. Sir Keir Starmer and the party he leads have made it absolutely clear that they will do nothing to improve the lives of working class people, in fact he seems to take pride in emphasising how little he’ll actually do. 

Workers in Britain have faced over a decade of stagnating wages now made worse by increasing inflation today. Our rights as trade unionists have been under relentless attack from the Tories with ever more anti union laws being pushed by successive Prime Ministers. And what does the leader of the supposed party of labour have to say about any of this? On pay he won’t commit to anything that Sunak wouldn’t do and on the anti union laws he refuses to countenance the repeal of any of them. In the very week where we see the largest private water company teetering on the edge of bankruptcy Starmer will not even commit to renationalisation of the water companies, a policy that even most Tory voters support. Not only does he offer absolutely nothing to workers but he and his shadow health secretary Wesley Streeting have committed to continuing NHS privatisation which, lest we forget, was also embraced by Blair and Brown between 1997 and 2010.

The Labour Party also refuses to commit to reversing any of the disastrous cuts in public services made by the Tories and Liberals since 2010 meanwhile labour councils up and down the country continue to enthusiastically cut services just as readily as any Tory controlled council would.  This is a party that not only offers nothing to the working class but has shown itself over and over again to be an active enemy of workers. It is ridiculous to ask such a man to address any union conference when he has already told us over and over again what he stands for, he stands for the ruling class and against workers. The leadership of Unite should not only be refusing to have Starmer address their conference but should be actively pushing for disaffiliation from this anti-working class party. It is an insult that money from working class people goes to fund a party that is an open enemy of every worker in this country.