Labour turmoil as unions grab safe European seats

Miliband is facing fierce internal dissent amid claims that plum seats in he European Parliament are being stitched up" for union-backed candidates.

Rows have broken out across the country within Labour after previously popular candidates were excluded in favour of others supported by the party's biggest financial backers.

Mr Miliband has been asked to intervene by party members worried that unions have had too much influence in clearing the way for their preferred candidates

The row has set off new fears among Blairites that union dominance in the party is growing before the next general election. They are particularly worried about the power of Unite, Labour's biggest donor.
The unions have been the main funders of Labour since Mr Miliband became the party's leader, donating £20 million in two years, 81 per cent of all donations.

Concerns were raised by a senior Labour source who said "Behind the scenes, we are moving back to unions, one union in particular, running candidate selections seemingly with the blessing of the leader's office. This is bad news for Labour," the source said.
In London, a popular candidate was not retained on the party's short-list to fight the European elections next year. Her allies said that her exclusion had cleared the way for a union official backed by Unite.

Two prominent party members resigned after another popular woman candidate in the North East was rejected in favour of two union officials. In a third region, a Labour official with the task of choosing suitable candidates has been accused of effectively
selecting herself for a tilt at a seat in Strasbourg.

The row comes soon after a number of senior party figures joined Tony Blair in warning Mr Miliband about the party's direction, urging him not to shift to the left.

Mr Blair and Mr Milliband met last week for the first time since the former Prime Minister's intervention. A Labour source refused to comment on the meeting but said that the Labour leader and his team "value his advice".

Anna van Densky

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