Prescott: Set to lose RMT support

Britain's main rail union has cut cash funding for Labour in protest at the government's failure to re-nationalise the railways.

Delegates from the Rail Maritime and Transport Union have voted to cut financial support to leading Labour figures.

And membership affiliation to Labour has been reduced from 56,000 to 10,000 members, slashing a cash donation of £112,000 by £92,000 to just £20,000.

The union's conference on Tuesday heard left wing calls for disaffiliation from the party it helped to found as Labour's funding moves to reliance on cash donations from wealthy individuals.

Bob Crow, the union's general secretary, rejected calls to ditch Millbank but warned "the patience of many of our members and traditional Labour supporters is now wearing thin".

"Labour was created as the political voice of the trade union movement and our members have the right to expect our political representatives to take up the cudgels on the issues that affect workers," he told the BBC.

"Our message should be that we are not disaffiliating from Labour but they cannot take us for granted. If you accept our money you should represent us."

RMT member, deputy prime minister, John Prescott and Commons leader, Robin Cook, are among the losers as the union switched the £44,000 it gives to Labour constituency parties to other MPs.

The 13-strong group of Labour MPs, including the outspoken transport select committee chairman, Gwyneth Dunwoody, currently supported by the RMT, are to be replaced by a new grouping, including veteran left-wingers Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, Ann Cryer and Brian Donohoe.

A "campaigning" body of MPs emerged after the union wrote to all in the Parliamentary Labour Party seeking backing for the RMT's four key demands to re-nationalise rail, oppose tube privatisation, boost the shipping industry and scrap Conservative anti-trade union laws.

Crow told the conference it was better to have Labour MPs committed to the RMT than big-name politicians, such as Prescott or Cook, who did "nothing" for the union.