New, Labour party boss 'understands the needs of working people', says Unison

Ed Miliband has denied that he will be in thrall to the trade unions as the new Labour leader, despite winning a tight contest thanks to the backing of union heavyweights.

Miliband secured a largely unexpected win over elder brother David by a margin of 1.3 per cent, it was confirmed at the party conference on Saturday. He was elected only after second, third and fourth preference votes had been counted.Trade union votes have been credited with swinging the leadership contest, after the country’s major unions – Unite, Unison and the GMB – agreed to back the younger Miliband brother over former foreign secretary David.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis welcomed the result, saying: “We backed Ed Miliband because of the way he listened and understood the needs of ordinary working people.

“Labour must offer an alternative economic strategy, promoting growth and recovery, together with fairness. This means protecting the poor, the sick and the vulnerable from the fall-out of this banker’s recession,” he added. “Protecting public services, and defending them against sweeping privatisation, must be central to this vision of a fairer society.”

The GMB also hailed the victory, with leader Paul Kenny saying: “New Labour has gone. It is a product of history.”

Although telling the conference that a “new generation” had taken charge of Labour and that the party had to change, Ed Miliband has already been forced to defend claims he will feel indebted to union support.

In a BBC interview, Miliband said he “was his own man”, and that his “Red Ed” nickname was undeserved.

“I think these labels don't help, that's not the way I would see my leadership.” Miliband said.“It's not about some lurch to the left, absolutely not.”
A poll by Harris Interactive found that four out of five people still believed there was a role to be played by trade unions. Three in five of the 1,157 people surveyed agreed that every workplace should have union representation, while a fifth said the right to unionise should be repealed.

Publication date: 30 September 2010
Source: PM Online