Ed Miliband Told To Break With New Labour By Union Chief

Break With New Labour, Union Chief Urges Miliband

The leader of the TUC has urged the Labour Party to break with "new Labour managerialism" and show a different approach ahead of the next general election.

General secretary Frances O'Grady also urged unions not to retreat into a "comfort zone" of opposition, but to try to help shape a new economy.

She warned Labour and unions they will need to change to help deliver a radical economy to lift the country out of a "lost decade" of stagnation.

Her comments come after Labour leader Ed Miliband had a furious clash with Unite leader Len McCluskey, who criticised members of his 'New Labourite' front bench.

In her Attlee memorial lecture at University College Oxford, she said: "Both Labour and unions must learn from the lessons of the past, in order to forge a new ideological settlement for post-crash Britain.

"If we are to build a future that works for all, then both sides of the labour movement need to change.

"For the Party, there must be a decisive break with New Labour managerialism, the notion that deregulated markets can somehow be given a human face.

"And for us in the trade unions, there can be no retreat into a comfort zone of narrow sectionalism or oppositionism.

Our long-term viability ultimately rests on our capacity to shape a new economy, not from the sidelines but from within."

Ms O'Grady said unions had to realise that the next Labour government would be dealing with a "difficult starting point", with less money to spend.

She added: "The Labour Party also needs to recognise that limited resources means we need more, not less, structural change.

"Labour needs to start where the people are - and the problems of stagnation, declining living standards and poor prospects now afflict a huge majority of the electorate, whether they tick the traditional supporter box or not."

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