Our voice will not be silenced

If anyone needed any more proof that the Tories and LibDems see the trade unions as natural enemies, they have only to look at the shenanigans this week. It seems amazing that some politicians, in this case Lords, are still falling for stings by the media. The latest saw them caught in the spotlight agreeing to take cash from lobbyists for services.   
 
The sleaze in Parliament had absolutely nothing to do with the unions, yet in their plans to stop it happening, Cameron and Clegg shamelessly roped in so-called trade union “reform” that will drastically curb our abilities to campaign on behalf of our members and to defend our public services.
 
Make no mistake this is a vindictive, calculating and unnecessary act. Our members are not lobbyists. They are ordinary working people – nurses, binmen, dinner ladies, social workers, teaching assistants, paramedics, nursery nurses – who are given a voice in the Labour Party’s democracy through our political affiliation.  
 
And we will make sure that that voice is not silenced by this or any other political chicanery.