On Wednesday 27 April, Kevan spoke twice in the Commons debate on the Trade Union Bill and added his voice to those that oppose the Bill. During the debate Kevan raised his concerns about the Government’s attempt to restrict union political funds and about its opposition to e-balloting for trade union ballots.
During the debate Kevan said, ” The clear impression given by the Conservative party and its supporters is that every single trade union that has a political fund donates it all to the Labour party, but that is simply not the case.
“Many are not affiliated to the Labour party, and many make no donations at all to any political party. Having run a political fund for the GMB, I know that the proportion that goes to the Labour party is small compared with the proportion that is spent on campaigning work.
“That allows the union not only to campaign on political issues, but to have a say, quite rightly, on things such as health and safety legislation or reorganisations of hospitals and other institutions. Without the political fund, the union would not be able to do that.
“The proposal would not only have taken away from my party the ability to receive money from trade unions, but would have hampered trade unions from taking part in civic life in this country, as they are quite right to do, through having a voice and making sure that their members’ collective voice is heard in consultations on whatever affects them directly.”
You can read Kevan’s full speech, and the rest of the debate, here:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-04-27/debates/16042764000002/TradeUnionBill#contribution-16042765000023
You can also watch Kevan’s two speeches by clicking on the links below:
http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/c9ad1ff7-426d-40ff-bbb1-915ff24ba21c?in=15:53:53
http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/c9ad1ff7-426d-40ff-bbb1-915ff24ba21c?in=17:10:36