FT: Union targets MPs who decline to back Royal Mail fight

The Financial Times has reported that “the postal workers’ union is ratcheting up the pressure on Labour MPs who refuse to back its fight against government plans to part-privatise Royal Mail, by threatening to mount campaigns in their constituencies”.

The Financial Times has reported that “the postal workers’ union is ratcheting up the pressure on Labour MPs who refuse to back its fight against government plans to part-privatise Royal Mail, by threatening to mount campaigns in their constituencies”.

The newspaper continues:

MPs sponsored by other unions in particular will be targeted.

A Communication Workers’ Union newsletter, seen by the Financial Times, names MPs sponsored by other unions who have yet to oppose the proposed sale of a 30 per cent stake in the state-owned postal operator. All of these union-backed MPs will be contacted, the CWU says. The newsletter sets out plans to organise a “series of national lobbies in the constituencies” of those MPs who have yet to sign a parliamentary motion attacking the government plans.

The CWU is organising a rally in the Wolverhampton constituency of Pat McFadden, the postal services minister, on Saturday. The campaign builds on existing threats by the CWU to disaffiliate from Labour and to withdraw members’ campaigning support for the June local and European elections, should the part-privatisation go ahead.

A government insider last night attacked the union’s approach, saying: “These are not the sorts of internal party strong-arm tactics that should be used to change government policy.”

But the CWU rejected any suggestion there was a tacit threat to withdraw union support from MPs if they failed to come into line on Royal Mail.

Contacting union-backed MPs was “not unusual for any campaign” the CWU said, pointing out that all the big unions affiliated to Labour had opposed the part-privatisation.

A parliamentary motion opposing the part-privatisation has been signed by 144 Labour MPs, including a number of ministerial aides.

The row will come to the fore in the Lords today, with the second reading of the bill to implement the sell-off. Tony Clarke, a Labour peer and former postman, has proposed a motion to kill the postal services bill.

But the main opposition parties will follow Lords convention by not voting against the government.