Exodus from Labour
The news media reports today that the Labour Party spent £12 million on the 2015 general election campaign in which it lost all but one parliamentary seat in Scotland - Labour's worst showing in the party's history.
A big slice of that £12 million will have come from the trade unions (in particular the GMB, Unison and Unite) despite the fact that fewer than 1 in 4 union members actually support the Labour Party north of the border.
No surprise then that a big majority of union members in Scotland (62% according to a recent ComRes survey) back the Government's plans to tighten the present rules for trade unions making donations to the Labour Party.
The terrible track record of the Labour-supporting unions during the long fight for equal pay in Scotland has helped bring about this situation and their failure to stand up to the big Labour-run councils has not been forgotten by the lowest paid union members, the majority of whom are women.
I am certain that there will be an 'exodus' of union members agreeing to donate money to the Labour Party when the new regulations come into force next year.