Philip Collins
(Picture: Daniel Hambury)In politics it always pays to watch the money. The most telling recent fact in British politics has been the fact that in the three months to September, the Labour party attracted £2.8 million in business donations, which is the first time Labour has raised more than the Tories since Sir Keir Starmer became leader. It is a timely infusion of cash because a saga of industrial battles is about to unfold and they always place the Labour Party in an invidious position.
As the party that announces its allegiance in its name, Labour comes under internal pressure to back industrial action, almost irrespective of its nature. It is, argue those on the Left of the party, a matter of principle. If the workers are in dispute with the bosses, then what is the party of Labour for if it is not to take their side? But in brute point of fact the position is always complicated if the party is also serious about either being in or getting into power, as it is now. With its opinion poll lead oscillating between 11 and 20 points, Labour still has a lot of public persuading to do and its leading figures are wary of uncritical endorsement of strikes, for which public support may be fleeting.
