Lord Mandelson upsets his union paymasters
It has been revealed that Lord Mandelson has been highly critical of recent comments attributed to the Unite union in relation to the potential closure of a UK car manufacturing plant with the loss of 6000 jobs. Mandelson has accused the union of "scaremongering" as he continues to attack the "doomsters" who are talking down the UK economy. However, he risks a very significant backlash in the UK public if the car plant in question does close with the direct loss of 6000 jobs and potentially thousands more indirectly linked to the business.
The last few weeks have seen a significant widening of opinion between the unions and the UK government, something which could seriously affect funding issues with regards to the Labour Party at the next general election. The unions have been attempting to flex their muscles over the last few months and while there have been victories and climb downs on both sides, the relationship between the two would now appear to be at breaking point.
By being highly critical of the UK unions the labour government also risks a serious backlash from traditional Labour voters, many of whom are firmly camped on the side of the unions. As if Gordon Brown has not got enough to be going on with, he is seeing a number of new fights beginning in different areas of his government. Is he losing control?
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