At a rally in London on Wednesday the results of the London Division’s indicative ballot were announced with 96% or more in favour of suspending funding to Labour, effectively disaffiliating from the party that brought you the European Postal Directive, Allan Leighton, Consignia, Crozier, Postcomm, competition in the postal market, Hooper report, Mandelson, privatisation…need we go on?!  We all remember Gordon Brown’s sympathetic support to our strike in 2007 (“they should get back to work”) and Mandy’s heartfelt response to the CWU’s demand that the government take on the pension (“I have instructed it will not happen. It is time for the union to wake up to the need for change”).

Instead of throwing more money (£1 million last year!) at Labour the unions should come together and build a new, anticapitalist party to unite our resistance to the capitalist crisis.

Originally London CWU tops pledged to defy union rules and disaffiliate, before backing down. Now there is a clear message from the rank and file: stop shackling us to this party that is attacking us.

Let’s roll out real ballots around the country, rules or no rules.  After all, its not like the PEC has broken conference decisions left right and centre – they were supposed to ballot us in March 2009 if Labour had not backed down on privatisation or pension cuts. And what happened to that 2 July timetable on industrial action?