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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Heather Stewart and Peter Walker

Are Starmer and Labour really in hock to ‘union paymasters’?

Members of various trade unions gathered in Parliament Square in protest against anti-strike laws in May 2023.
The government announced this month it would to scrap anti-strike laws on ‘minimum service levels’ as part of a workers’ rights bill. Photograph: Vuk Valcic/Sopa Images/Shutterstock

Since last month’s general election, Sharon Graham, the general secretary of the Unite trade union, has held face-to-face meetings with a string of key secretaries of state.

As she says, in many leading economies, that would barely merit a mention, given that she represents about a million members across 40-odd industries, including steel, energy and defence.

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