Corbyn mania was well in evidence at yesterday's Rally on resisting the Trade Union Bill. Corbyn supporters were leafleting outside the NUT's Hamilton House and pressing JC stickers on anyone and anything in the vicinity, almost as bad as the Jehovah Witnesses outside Wembley Park station!
Brent was well represented with LRC members of Brent Labour as well as former Labour councillor Jim Moher present along with Pete Firmin Chair of Brent Trades Council, Michael Calderbank, chair of Brent Central CLP; Sarah Cox of the SWP, Brent Fightback, and Brent Save Our NHS;and yours truly from Brent Green Party and the Green Party Trade Union Group.
The Corbyn factor was evident from the beginning when Dave Prentis announced Unison was backing him for Labour leader and ended the rally when John McDonnell pledged that Corbyn would mount real opposition in this Parliament to the Bill and when elected to power in 2020 would repeal all anti-trade union legislation.
Clearly Corbyn's campaign is still to be won and if he does win the problem of what to do about a Parliamentary Labour Party that failed to make a comprehensive stand against the Welfare Bill will loom large.
If he does not win and an austerity-lite candidate becomes leader what happens to the relationship between Labour and the unions?
Another issue that emerged during the speeches was the extent to which unions would be prepared to break the law. There was a sober warning towards the close about what happened previously when unions found their funds sequestered by a hostile Tory government.
Would the Labour Party back breaking an unjust law?
The details of the Trade Union Bill are still to come and there are likely to be amendments from both sides. The Green Party opposed previous anti-union legislation and are almost certain to oppose these both from within parliament and outside when they meet at Conference in September.
