By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter. Campaigning journalist Ted Jeory, who keep a close eye on politics in east London, has an interesting scoop. Having clocked that Len McCluskey of Unite and Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman had suddenly become best buddies earlier in the year, Ted did some digging through the council's papers. Lo and behold, […]
By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter. I doubt today's Sun on Sunday was popular at Chuka Umunna's breakfast table. A leaked memo written by former Unite political director boasts of the influence the union has over Labour's business, regulation and wages policies. By coincidence, the ultra-smooth Shadow Business Secretary and his Constituency Labour Party have received a […]
By Andrew GimsonFollow Andrew on Twitter Ed Miliband’s attitude to the trade unions is hopelessly confused. He has not defined himself, and proved to Middle England how sound he is, by picking a fight with them in the manner of a latter-day Tony Blair. The present Labour leader owes too much to the unions for such […]
By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter. Today's Times contains an awkward revelation for Ed Miliband – despite turning a surplus last year, Labour managed to organise its tax affairs so efficiently that the party paid no corporation tax whatsoever. Of course, there's no suggestion they did anything illegal, but given Miliband's regular drum-beating about the immorality of […]
By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter. Last week, writing up Ed Miliband's speech on Labour's trade union scandal, I raised a number of practical questions about how the reforms will work. Len McCluskey's interview in today's Guardian helpfully answers the first of them I asked: "Len McCluskey told the BBC Miliband is not calling for an opt-in […]