Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called on Britain’s trade unions to break their historic ties with Labour and instead work with Reform UK, the real party of British workers.
Speaking to The Times, Farage invited union leaders to seek affiliation with Reform UK, attend the party’s conference in September, and help shape the policies of a future Reform government.
Farage described the offer as a “historic reset between Britain’s trade unions and Britain’s party of the workers”. His pitch comes after recent polling showed Reform and Labour tied on 28% among trade-union members, with members of Unite and the GMB even more likely to back Reform UK than Labour.
Farage said: “Reform now runs councils that employ tens of thousands of unionised workers: bin men and women, social workers, care staff, school support workers. Unlike the snobbish Tories of old, we will never treat organised labour with contempt.”
Farage’s message to unions is clear: “If you represent working people in this country, my door is open. The doors of every Reform council leader from Sunderland to Sandwell are open.”
Farage set out the “principles of a new relationship” between the unions and Reform UK: “First, we extend an open offer to trade unions to apply - in good faith - for affiliation to Reform UK.”
“Second, we invite the unions to attend Reform UK’s national conference in September, and engage in discussing the policies of a future Reform government. We want to ensure that what happens in Westminster finally reflects the interests of the working majority.”
“And third, we pledge to work with the unions to right historical injustices against British workers. For a start we aim to deliver proper redress to the victims of the British Steel pensions scandal. Some steelworkers lost hundreds of thousands [of pounds] thanks to unscrupulous financial advisers and official complacency.”
But Farage’s appeal is not just aimed at union bosses. He is also speaking plainly to traditional Labour voters. “Why would hard-working Brits in constituencies like Makerfield, Greater Manchester, vote Labour today? Sir Keir Starmer and his tax-raising chancellor Rachel Reeves have confirmed to them that Labour is now the party of welfare, not work.
“As [Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary] revealed in the Mandelson files, the question at the heart of every Labour policy discussion is: ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?’ So when Andy Burnham, Labour’s candidate and wannabe party leader, told traditional Labour voters in Makerfield to ‘keep the faith’, he was telling working people not to abandon a party that in reality has long since abandoned them.”
Speaking to The Times, Farage invited union leaders to seek affiliation with Reform UK, attend the party’s conference in September, and help shape the policies of a future Reform government.
Farage described the offer as a “historic reset between Britain’s trade unions and Britain’s party of the workers”. His pitch comes after recent polling showed Reform and Labour tied on 28% among trade-union members, with members of Unite and the GMB even more likely to back Reform UK than Labour.
Farage said: “Reform now runs councils that employ tens of thousands of unionised workers: bin men and women, social workers, care staff, school support workers. Unlike the snobbish Tories of old, we will never treat organised labour with contempt.”
Farage’s message to unions is clear: “If you represent working people in this country, my door is open. The doors of every Reform council leader from Sunderland to Sandwell are open.”
Farage set out the “principles of a new relationship” between the unions and Reform UK: “First, we extend an open offer to trade unions to apply - in good faith - for affiliation to Reform UK.”
“Second, we invite the unions to attend Reform UK’s national conference in September, and engage in discussing the policies of a future Reform government. We want to ensure that what happens in Westminster finally reflects the interests of the working majority.”
“And third, we pledge to work with the unions to right historical injustices against British workers. For a start we aim to deliver proper redress to the victims of the British Steel pensions scandal. Some steelworkers lost hundreds of thousands [of pounds] thanks to unscrupulous financial advisers and official complacency.”
But Farage’s appeal is not just aimed at union bosses. He is also speaking plainly to traditional Labour voters. “Why would hard-working Brits in constituencies like Makerfield, Greater Manchester, vote Labour today? Sir Keir Starmer and his tax-raising chancellor Rachel Reeves have confirmed to them that Labour is now the party of welfare, not work.
“As [Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary] revealed in the Mandelson files, the question at the heart of every Labour policy discussion is: ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?’ So when Andy Burnham, Labour’s candidate and wannabe party leader, told traditional Labour voters in Makerfield to ‘keep the faith’, he was telling working people not to abandon a party that in reality has long since abandoned them.”
