The Tories and the Union Modernisation Fund 3

Matthew Sinclair Better Government

Richard Balfe’s call for the Conservatives to maintain the Union Modernisation Fund is utter foolishness:

"When the Government set up the multimillion-pound modernisation fund three years ago for unions to draw upon, the Tories criticised the fund as a payback to the Labour Party’s main source of funding. But they are now debating whether to continue with the fund if they form the next government.

To approve the fund would be departure from the days when Margaret Thatcher was leader and the Conservative Party was partly defined by its antagonism towards the unions. And by forging a relationship with the unions, it could ultimately threaten Labour’s exclusive ties."

This is a bad idea on a number of grounds:

1) Political abuse of taxpayers’ money – directing taxpayers’ money to secure political advantages is disreputable and erodes public trust in politics. Whether it is the Labour party channelling money to their donors or the Conservatives using the same fund to try and break Labour and the unions apart.

2) Building up structural problems in the public finances – Our report (PDF) on a looming winter of discontent set out how, in the last year, public sector staff have gone on strike 100 times as much as those in the private sector. The unions are holding government to ransom in the knowledge that, playing with other people’s money and with little accountability, politicians will often fold in the face of a strike.

Over the medium to long-term this is reducing flexibility and increasing wages in the public sector which will push up costs, make reform more difficult and reduce the chances of taxpayers getting good value for money.

3) Bad politics – In the long term any political party that hopes to advance free-market policies and secure value for taxpayers’ money will often clash with unions attached to centralised, big government organisation of the pubic services and after big pay increases for their members. If the Conservatives are really attached to ushering in a post-bureaucratic age and shrinking the state they are likely, sadly, to have to do so in spite of the unions. Maintaining Labour’s bung to the unions won’t change that.

Matthew Sinclair

Matthew is Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, author of Let Them Eat Carbon and editor of How to Cut Public Spending (and still win an election)

Follow @mjhsinclair

Hardeep_Singh

This ongoing cross dressing of political parties is disturbing. The unions hammered the UK in the 1970s have we such short memories? They have helped Labour turn our public services into a totally unaffordable laughing stock. Allowing the wolf into your home is bad news they’ll break everything and cause massive disruption bringing down the Conseravtive party. I sometimes feel that ‘shock horror’ pre New Labour that the party probably wasn’t that bad but the unions always held them back and gave the current socialist straight jacket! I know it’s incredible but I feel that the unions are a bitter pill being forced down our throats and the last thing we need to do is feed them too. Let them work for their money like everyone else and if they can’t make ends meet well tuff that’s life.
James Rowling

Gate Gourmet? Exploitation or “tuff that’s life?”
Adam Wissen

Flexible working, a national minimum wage, a minimum of 4 weeks paid holiday, paid maternity leave etc.
All fought for by the unions. The Tories ain’t stupid they know a campaign based on attacking unions is a campaign based on attacking these things, which British workers rightly now expect.
To rub salt in your wounds, the Tories also have a section on their website about equal pay for women.
The unions are here to stay come 2010 and beyond, Tory or New Labour. Get used to it!