Ed Miliband Ready to Turn On Those Unions Who Brought Him to Power

Ed Miliband has launched a bid to emulate Tony Blair by taking on the unions that fund, and some say control, the Labour Party.

Ed Miliband's reforms will put him on collision course with the unions that put him to power as he attempts to loosen the stranglehold that the unions have over him and the Labour Party.

The Labour Party leader proposes to ditch the current Clause 1 of the Labour Party constitution. The proposals are aimed at bringing the Labour Party in line with members and supporters who share its values to develop policies to make communities stronger through collecting action and support.

In an ironic twist, according to the Guardian, David Miliband would have delivered speech to the conference arguing that the Labour Party needed to focus itself on being a movement rather than focus its attention on electoral success.

Ed Miliband, who some deride as a puppet of the unions, will attempt to dilute the power they wield. However, it could be at some cost as the power block of his successful leadership election came from the groups he wishes now to attack. It is without doubt a risky strategy.

The Guardian claims that Ed Miliband will look to reduce the voting power of the unions at party conferences to below 50 per cent as well as reduce their power in leadership elections. Many inside the party back Miliband's plans, including Peter Hain who has pushed for such reform, arguing that Labour will need to have wide ranging changes to how it operates if they are to be successful in the future.