Gordon Brown refuses to back staff who'll cross BA picket line

Published on Wednesday 17 March 2010 21:43

GORDON Brown yesterday repeatedly refused to back British Airways employees who will cross the picket line this weekend as the influence trade unions have over his party was once again put under the spotlight.

With thousands of passengers set to lose their flights this weekend in a dispute which could damage the airline, Mr Brown came under fierce attack during Prime Minister's questions for his inaction.

It followed revelations yesterday that half the Cabinet, including Mr Brown, have received funding from Unite totalling more than 33,000.

There were also allegations that the union is attempting to parachute its people into Labour safe seats at the general election.

It was already known that Unite has donated 11 million to Labour since Mr Brown became party leader in mid-2007, one quarter of all the funds the party has received.

In addition, his close friend and unofficial spin-doctor, Charlie Whelan, is the political director of Unite. He is also organising Labour's attempts to keep hold of key marginal seats.

The union's deputy general-secretary, Jack Dromey, is married to Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman and is one of the candidates recently chosen to stand in a safe seat.

The row came to a head during Prime Minister's questions, when the Conservative leader, David Cameron, quoted Mr Brown's words at the beginning of the week that it was the "wrong time" for a strike.

"When is the right time?" he asked, as Tory back-benchers shouted "after the election".

Mr Cameron then went on to demand that Mr Brown supports those airline workers who cross the picket line.

The question was asked four times and each time Mr Brown refused to answer, accusing the Tories of trying to "politicise" an industrial dispute.

Mr Cameron described the Prime Minister's answers as "the most pathetic" he had heard in three years.

He told Mr Brown: "This is why you cannot lead this country; absolutely no backbone when the big test comes.

"You've failed the big test, and we know why, because your party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Unite union. They pick the candidates, choose the policies, they elect the leader, they have special access to Downing Street.

"That's why your response is so feeble. When the crunch comes, you can only act in the union interest, not the national interest."

But Mr Brown responded: "Not once have you asked for a resolution of this dispute. Any previous Tory administration would be trying to resolve this dispute, rather than provoke the dispute.

"I ask you to think again about the words you have used," the Prime Minister said. "They are not calculated to end the dispute. They are calculated to provoke the dispute. On the day when we are publishing unemployment figures that are coming down, showing that we have a flexible labour market and we have taken action that is necessary to get people back into work, you have shown no positive policy, no substance, no programme.

"No wonder you talk without notes: you have nothing to say."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg then waded into the row by comparing Unite to the Conservative's biggest financial backer, Lord Ashcroft, who has avoided more than 100 million of UK tax since 2000, while giving the Tories more than 10m to target marginal seats.

"Charlie Whelan and Lord Ashcroft are exactly the same: one is the baron of the trade unions, and the other one is the baron of Belize," he shouted, above heckling from both sides of the House. "Both are bankrolling political parties, both are trying to buy seats."

Mr Whelan later insisted that it was "insulting" to compare him to Lord Ashcroft.

However, opponents shouted "Michael Brown" at Mr Clegg, as a reminder of the criminal who gave the Liberal Democrats stolen money to fight the 2005 election, a donation which they have not returned.

As Speaker John Bercow struggled to maintain order, Mr Clegg continued: "I'm talking about cleaning up politics right now. We need a deal on party funding, yet they both blocked the Hayden Phillips agreement on party funding. So why should anyone believe a word they have got to say about party funding now?"

The Prime Minister said: "We and the Liberal Party agreed changes on political party funding in the summer more than a year ago. It was the Conservative Party that rejected a deal."

But Mr Clegg said that the Prime Minister was "rewriting history" and was trying to avoid responsibility for blocking real change.

In a late dramatic twist, Mr Whelan appeared on radio to deny that he was "Labour's Lord Ashcroft".

Who gets what from Unite in the Cabinet

Northern Ireland Secretary

Shaun Woodward

1,000

Work & Pensions Secretary

Yvette Cooper

1,000

Children's minister

Dawn Primarolo

1,500

Prime Minister

Gordon Brown

1,000

Local government minister

John Healey

1,000

Energy Secretary

Ed Miliband

1,000

Environment Secretary

Hilary Benn

4,500

Defence Secretary

Bob Ainsworth

4,500

Employment minister

Jim Knight

6,560

Home Secretary

Alan Johnson

1,310

Schools Secretary

Ed Balls

5,395

International Development Secretary

Douglas Alexander

4,000

Local Government Secretary

John Denham

277

BACKING UNITE

BRITISH Airways cabin crews have gathered international support for co-ordinated industrial action across Europe and the United States ahead of a walkout due to begin this weekend.

Ignoring a plea from Prime Minister Gordon Brown to return to the negotiating table with BA management, the Unite union yesterday raised the stakes for the airline by holding talks with unions representing ground crews in the US, Germany and Spain.

Co-ordinated international action by ground staff and service workers would cripple BA's plans to operate enough flights for more than 60 per cent of its booked passengers.

Jim Hoffa, president of the US Teamsters and son of the legendary Jimmy Hoffa, told reporters his union was looking at how it could offer assistance to the striking British Airways workers.

"We're going to explore whatever we can do that's legal," Mr Hoffa said after emerging from a meeting in Washington with Unite's Steve Turner.