Union Dosh
The Telegraph had an interesting article the other day showing that trade unions such as the GMB are wealthy, well resourced organisations which can afford to donate more than £5 million of its members' money to the Labour Party (since 2010) while investing another £166 million in Centrica, one of the UK's 'big six' energy companies.
The sooner that 'big money' is taken out of party politics the better for democracy, if you ask me and the way to achieve that is with a financial cap on donations from wealthy donors combined with a sensible level of state funding.
Labour donor invests in firms on Miliband hitlist
By Tim Shipman - The Telegraph
Photograph: PRESS ASSOCIATION
ONE of the Labour’s biggest donors has invested millions of pounds in banks and energy companies that Ed Miliband has publicly condemned.
The party was accused of “blatant hypocrisy” last night after it emerged that donations from the GMB union are paid for in part by investments in companies that Labour wants to break up.
Recently published accounts for the GMB, which has given Labour more than £5m since Miliband became leader in 2010, has shares worth £166m in the energy giant Centrica, which owns British Gas. Miliband has promised to freeze energy prices and break up the “big six” energy companies if he wins power at next year’s general election.
The GMB also has £1.4m invested in Lloyds, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, despite Miliband’s view that the “big five” banks are too powerful and should be forced to give up branches.
The union has £359,000 of investments in the mobile operator Vodafone, which has been accused of avoiding up to £6bn in taxes. Miliband has pledged new rules to tackle corporate tax avoidance.
The GMB also owns stakes in British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco, both opposed to plain cigarette packaging — a proposal backed by Miliband.
Priti Patel, the Tory MP for Witham, said: “This shopping list of trade union investments exposes Labour’s blatant hypocrisy. Ed Miliband is saying one thing in public but doing the opposite in private.”
Labour declined to comment. Allan Wylie, finance director of the GMB, said it represents workers in some of the firms concerned.
