TWO Merseyside Labour MPs had their funding axed by a trade union last night, as a protest against the "privatisation" of public services.
Unison – which is the Labour Party's biggest financial backer – said Jane Kennedy (Wavertree) and Angela Eagle (Wallasey) would no longer be bankrolled unless they agreed to "stand up for the union's values".
The union, which represents millions of workers across the public sector, is furious about government plans to part-privatise Royal Mail, as well as the "market testing" of NHS services.
Dave Prentis, its general secretary, won a standing ovation from its conference in Brighton when he said his members were tired of "feeding the hand that bites them".
He told delegates: "I call on our labour link to suspend all constituency development payments.
"We should only work with, and support, trade union MPs who stand up for our values and ensure that any Labour party manifesto does not continue the privatisation of our public services.”
“The government says the solution is to hand larger and larger chunks of our public services over to private companies that will always put profit before public interest. “
