Peter Mandelson warns Labour over trade union influence
Former minister says too many candidate selection processes are 'in the hands of one union at worst or a couple at best'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The former Labour cabinet minister Lord Mandelson has warned his party over the influence trade unions have over candidate selection, saying that it doesn't reflect the "new politics" which Ed Miliband claims to represent.
Speaking at a conference of party members in London yesterday, he said too many selection processes were “in the hands of one union at worst or a couple at best."
He said the selections were being “orchestrated by a cabal of NEC (national executive committee) members. This is not the new politics by any stretch of the imagination," reports the Sunday Times.
Unions account for 81% of all party money received under Miliband’s leadership, and Unite is sponsoring about a quarter of the parliamentary candidates elected so far for the 2015 election. Union support was also credited with landing Miliband the role over his older brother, David.
Mandelson said he was glad Miliband had talked about the diversity of candidates and the party’s selection process becoming more open rather than closed.
He said: “This chimes very much with his (Miliband’s) call for a new politics in this country. But I don’t know how we can reconcile the ideas associated with a new politics with too many selection processes for parliament . . . not all of them, but too many being put in the hands of one union at worst or a couple of unions at best.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments