Trade Unions, Other Third Party Organisations And The Democratic Process

EDM number 1449 in 2015-16, proposed by Jonathan Edwards on 10/05/2016.
Categorised under the topics of Elections, Industrial relations and National Assembly for Wales.

That this House supports the role of trade unions in protecting and enhancing the rights of working people; values the contribution of the trade union movement to democratic debate and promoting economic justice; considers it appropriate that trade unions should play a stronger role in economic and industrial policy; notes with deep concern however, the actions of the Unison union during the National Assembly elections in Wales in May 2016 in contacting all its approximately 100,000 members in Wales, blatantly lying about the policy position of a political parties contesting that election; believes that these actions undermine the good name of trade unions and trade unionism; expresses concern that these actions would inevitably have impacted on the way that many Unison members voted; further considers that all true democrats should be appalled at the actions of Unison in Wales; considers that these actions constitute a deliberate attempt to subvert the democratic process; considers deliberate subversion of the democratic process by trade unions or any other third party organisation to be a matter of the gravest order which should be liable to criminal prosecution; and calls on the UK Government to introduce legislation to deter such activity in the future either by amending the Representation of the People Act 2000 to criminalise deliberate attempts by trade unions or third party organisations to subvert the democratic process or by increasing the powers available to the Certification Officer.

This motion has been signed by a total of 7 MPs.