Members of communications union CWU voted yesterday to renew its affiliation to the Labour Party, even as others told of the party’s betrayal during the campaign to prevent privatisation of Royal Mail Labour has changed its rules so that trade unions can no longer directly pay affiliation fees from their political funds, instead requiring union members to become individual party affiliates.

After the CWU conference passed the the recommendations of the Collins report that led to the Labour policy changed, fury erupted during an emergency motion on the legal requirement for the union to maintain a general political fund.

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes led support for the motion, which noted the ballot for a political fund, then put in motion the process to establish procedures ensuring each individual member can give written consent to the arrangements as an affiliated member of the Labour Party.

The debate that followed focused on the relationship between the CWU and the Labour Party.

Mr Hayes warned that if the union did not have a political fund then the ability of the union to back any campaign or party would be limited.

He also warned of the danger of waking up the day after the general election next year to find Prime Minister David Cameron back in 10 Downing Street with a working majority.

Regional secretary of the Midlands Lee Barron supported the motion, claiming that it “offered a chance to move away from the stale debates about disaffiliation” from Labour.

Simon Midgely of Bradford and District Amal believed that letting individual members decide to opt for the Labour Party could backfire. 

“They will ask, if I pay my money to support Labour I want Labour to support me. The recent record is not good,” said Mr Midgely, who went onto quote how the Labour Party conference had passed a motion backing the anti-privatisation campaign only for the leadership to ignore the motion and sit on its hands.

As a result of the emergency motion being carried, five other motions focusing on the relationship between the CWU and the Labour Party fell.