I think that most of us are still mystified about the objectives of the clause, so I will put one scenario to the Minister to test its purpose. The clause will enable someone who is not a trade union member—a member of the Conservative party, for example—to contest the membership list. This is about communications between the union and its members, so if the union in the run up to the next general election, say, sends out a letter to its members urging them to vote for the Labour party, the Conservative party member, who is not a member of a trade union, could contest the accuracy of the membership list and, in that way, undermine the trade union’s ability to communicate with its members. That is possible under this legislation, and it betrays its purpose.
Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill
Proceeding contribution from
John McDonnell
(Labour)
in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 11 September 2013.
It occurred during Debate on bills on Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
567 c1052 
Session
2013-14
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Librarians' tools
Timestamp
2013-12-20 04:20:43 +0000
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