Inside the rail unions bankrolling Labour’s top brass with hotel stays and donations
MILITANT rail unions poised to unleash a “summer of discontent” on passengers have been bankrolling the Labour Party and its top team, we can reveal.
Leader Sir Keir Starmer and frontbench colleagues have registered thousands in donations from groups intent on industrial action.
Cash has paid for hotel stays, meals and even Christmas cards for Labour MPs who have been accused of failing to deliver a consistent for or against message on proposed strikes.
PM Boris Johnson has hit out at Sir Keir for not condemning rail union plans. Millions of travellers will be hit if members of Aslef, Unite, the RMT and TSSA unions walk out.
Unite alone has registered £2.8million in donations to Labour since Sir Keir became leader in April 2020
He noted a £2,000 donation from them in the register of MPs’ financial interests, we can reveal.
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His deputy, Angela Rayner, received donations for hotel stays at party conferences, getting £880 in 2019 and £984 in 2018.
She received two £5,700 RMT donations in the run-up to the 2017 General Election.
Shadow Levelling-Up Secretary Lisa Nandy got more than £3,000 for conference hotel stays in 2015, including £945 from Unite and £2,500 from the RMT.
Last week she said on TV she backed the rail workers and the public, but a party spokesman claimed later she “didn’t say she supports the strike”.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves got a £1,979.50 donation from Unite in 2007, ahead of her being elected to the Commons in 2010.
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Former Labour leader Ed Miliband, now Shadow Climate Change Secretary, received a £100,000 donation during his run to be party boss in 2010.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has had more than £1,500 from Unite for Christmas cards.
They paid £636.35 for cards, £897.10 for labels and postage. The donations were registered in 2019.
Shadow Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds registered £14,996 from Unite in early 2020 and previously listed £32,673 for two years to cover the costs of a political adviser.
Aslef gave Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Rachel Hopkins £1,470 for accommodation at last year’s party conference and £240 for her seat and a meal at the British Kebab Awards.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing, with all donations entered in the MPs’ register of financial interests, and maybe also registered with the Electoral Commission.
This week Mr Johnson said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and rail bosses had his backing and won’t “roll over”.
The RMT has announced strikes on June 21, 23 and 25, when 40,000 staff from Network Rail and train firms will walk out.
On London’s Tube 1,000 Unite members are set to strike on June 21 and some Aslef drivers will strike on June 23 and 26.
The TSSA will ballot Avanti West Coast mainline staff on possible strikes next month.
The unions want a pay rise linked to the Retail Prices Index rate of inflation, which stands at 11.1 per cent. NHS staff were last year given a three per cent rise.
Labour appear to be divided over the planned strikes. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would “prefer they weren’t going ahead”, and in an interview yesterday Sir Keir said: “Nobody wants to see strikes and all the disruption that they cause.”
Meanwhile five Labour MPs who have backed strike action have also received donations from the RMT worth £20,000 since 2020.
Diane Abbott received £2,000 from the union in 2020, and has said: “It is a human right to withdraw your labour.”
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was given £8,325 in 2020.
He said he backed the RMT campaign to prevent job cuts and “secure a fair pay deal”.
He added that he “will be on the picket line”.
Ian Lavery received £5,000 two years ago and fellow Labour MP Jo Stevens was given £2,000 by the RMT in 2020.
Rebecca Long-Bailey received £3,000 in 2020, and this week she said: “Cutting hundreds of station staff jobs will make our railway less safe, secure and accessible. Solidarity with RMT union members.”
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A Labour spokesperson said: “Nobody wants strikes. We urge everyone to come around the table.
"There is time. People are owed a Government that doesn’t just commentate but gets stuck in. Conservative ministers have a role.”
