Speaking to the Usdaw Annual Delegate Meeting in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary said: “As I made clear at the time the Labour MPs defected, now is not the time for division. We need a Labour government fighting for the interests of working people and anything that damages that aim is unwelcome.
 
“Some of those MPs were members of the Usdaw Parliamentary Group and some of them had been strong supporters of us as a union and our campaigning work and I thank them for that. I am saddened they took the decision to leave the Labour Party.
 
“Some of them were very good Labour MPs, but I firmly believe they made the wrong decision. Let me make it clear so there is no ambiguity, on the day those MPs left the Labour Party to form The Independent Group that was the day they lost our support.
 
“We believe in the need for a Labour government and for that reason they will not be receiving any support from us going forward. The Independent Group have now become Change UK. I’ll make it very clear Usdaw remains Labour through and through. We want a Labour Government and we will only be supporting Labour candidates in the next General Election.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 420,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. 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