Ed Miliband to tell TUC he will build "a new relationship with trade union members"

Ed Miliband will today (Tuesday 10 September) declare his ambition to build a mass membership One Nation Labour Party rooted in the lives of working people and communities across Britain.

In his speech to the TUC in Bournemouth, he will acknowledge that the reforms he proposes are a massive challenge and that some people are worried about change. But he will say the current system of affiliation for trade unionists must change so that they have a real choice as individuals about being part of the party - and a real voice within it.

Mr MIliband proposes that individual union members should have to opt in to support the party, rather than being automatically affiliated. This could substantially reduce Labour's funding from automatic affiliation fees, though Mr Miliband believes that more union members would opt to become full, active party members which could mitigate against any financial loss from affiliation fees.

“I am a One Nation politician. And One Nation is about governing for the whole country," he will say.

"To do this we are going have to build a new kind of Labour Party. A new relationship with individual trade union members.

“Some people ask: what’s wrong with the current system? Let me tell them: we have three million working men and women affiliated to our party. But the vast majority play no role in our party. They are affiliated in name only. That wasn’t the vision of the founders of our party. I don’t think it’s your vision either. And it’s certainly not my vision.

“That’s why I want to make each and every affiliated trade union member a real part of their local party, making a real choice to be a part of our party so they can have a real voice in it.

“This is an historic opportunity to begin bringing people back into the decisions which affect their lives. It means we could become a Labour party not of 200,000 people, but 500,000, or many more. A party rooted every kind of workplace in the country, a party rooted in every community in the country, a genuine living, breathing movement.

“Of course, it is a massive challenge. It will be a massive challenge for the Labour Party to reach out to your members in a way that we have not done for many years and persuade them to be part of what we do. And like anything that is hard it is a risk. But the bigger risk is just saying let’s do it as we have always done it.

“It is you who have been telling me year after year about a politics that is detached from the lives of working people. We need to build a party truly rooted in the lives of all the working people of Britain once more.

“That’s why we must have the courage to change. I respect those who worry about change. I understand. But I disagree. It is the right thing to do.

“Change can happen. Change must happen. And I am absolutely determined that this change will happen. It is the only way to build a truly One Nation party so we can build a One Nation country.”

Ed Miliband will contrast the reforms he proposes with what he will argue is the failure of the Conservative Party to renew itself and change, which has left politics seeming more out of touch and disconnected from the lives of working people.

He will describe how he believes David Cameron shows contempt for the concerns of millions of working people in trade unions in a way that would have dismayed One Nation Conservative leaders like Benjamin Disraeli.

“They knew the Conservative Party had to represent the whole country. They couldn’t write off whole swathes of people if they were to be worthy of governing Britain. It seems extraordinary to have to even talk about this historical lesson. But I do.

“We have a Prime Minister, who writes you and your members off. Who doesn’t just write you off, but oozes contempt for you from every pore. What does he say about you? He says your members are a “threat to our economy”. Back to the enemy within.

“Six and a half million people in Britain. Who teach our children, who look after the sick, who care for the elderly, who build our homes, who keep our shops open morning, noon and night. They’re not the enemy within. They’re the people who make Britain what it is.

“How dare he? How dare he insult people, members of trade unions as he does? How dare he write off whole sections of our society? One Nation Conservatives, would be turning in their graves if they could hear the nasty, divisive, small-minded rhetoric of the leader of their once great party.

“We know from recent experience what happens to political leaders who write off whole sections of a country. That’s what Mitt Romney did when he talked about the 47% of people who would never vote for him. And look what happened to him. Friends, my job is to make sure that’s what happens to David Cameron as well.”

His controversial plans for reform of union funding to the Labour Party may be bitterly opposed by some trade union leaders. The GMB has recently announced it will cut the funds it donates to Labour by 90% from £1.2m to £150,000 from the start of next year, in reaction to Mr Miliband's initiative.

Some have warned that the party could face huge reductions in its funds if Labour pursues its reforms; others, including senior Conservatives, have argued that Labour remains in the control of union leaders and described Mr Miliband as "weak".

Labour's five biggest union donations are from Unite, the GMB, Unison, Usdaw and the Communication Workers Union, and currently total £2.27m.