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Unite the Union, in the past one of the Labour party’s most generous donors, has refused to endorse its election manifesto in a move which demonstrates deep splits in the left-leaning opposition.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite — one of Britain’s largest trade unions — withheld her support for the manifesto at a meeting of Labour figures and unions on Friday.
The so-called “Clause V” gathering on Friday was designed to sign off on the list of election pledges ahead of its publication next week. Labour officials said the meeting was “positive”.
However Graham said the manifesto had crossed key “red lines”, which meant she could not support it in its entirety, despite approving of some of the policies in the document.
In particular the union chief argued that she could not accept Labour’s policy of blocking new oil and gas licences in the North Sea. She also said that the party’s package of employment reforms, known as the “New Deal”, had been diluted too far since it was first set out three years ago by deputy leader Angela Rayner.
One union official said Graham believed that the employment package was now “unrecognisable” from its first incarnation as a green paper consultation document in 2021.
The manifesto was adopted “by acclamation” without a vote on Friday. Labour sources said that anyone at the meeting could have requested a formal vote but there was no such request. “Things are normally done by consensus,” said a Labour official.
Labour said: “Today’s meeting has endorsed Labour’s manifesto. On 4 July, the British people will have the chance to vote for change — to stop the chaos, turn the page and start to rebuild our country.”
The document has been described by party insiders as “focused” and is expected to contain few surprises. Starmer has been adopting a safety-first approach to an election he expects to win.
Graham had originally been due to talk to the press after leaving the meeting at IET London conference centre, but cancelled that briefing.
The list of pledges is expected to be launched on June 13 ahead of the election on July 4.
Graham’s intervention raises the possibility that she could hold back on handing over Unite’s cash for Labour’s election campaign, having already slowed down donations since she became leader in 2021.
However Labour is confident that it will have sufficient financial firepower for the contest having ramped up big multimillion-pound donations from a handful of business figures including Lord Sainsbury and eco-entrepreneur Dale Vince.
The manifesto was also criticised by left-wing pressure group Momentum, which said it was “deeply disappointed” by a report in the Financial Times that said Labour would enter the election without committing to scrap the government’s two-child benefit cap.
Elements of the manifesto already leaked include a commitment to recognise a Palestinian state before peace talks are over and a pledge to lower the retirement age for ambulance drivers from 67 to 62 to improve recruitment.
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