Nick Ireland – Usdaw Divisional Officer says: “The Labour Party was formed by the trade unions to give a political voice to working people and its continuing strength lies in representing the voices of millions of workers through their respective trade unions. So it is crucial that the voice of those workers is not watered down and affiliated trade union members have a proper say in the election of our leaders. That is why Usdaw is backing a reformed electoral college based on a 50:50 split between affiliated organisations and Labour party members.
 
“We have heard arguments from supporters of ‘one member one vote’ about the rights of the individual, but we are not a club. We are a movement of working people that collectively represents working people. My union Usdaw, along with our sister unions, represents workers on a collective basis. When we submit motions, respond to policy documents and choose Labour representatives; we don’t speak on behalf of the individual, we speak collectively on behalf of our members.
 
“So tomorrow, we will be calling on conference not to individualise the voices within our Movement; but to vote to retain the collective trade union voice that has been the backbone of our Party since its creation, by supporting a 50:50 electoral college.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with around 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 28% over the decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion