By Eniola Amadu
Labour’s largest union backer has warned that Keir Starmer is at risk of pushing workers towards Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, accusing the party of failing to protect oil and gas jobs and of watering down key pledges on employment rights.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said Labour’s retreat on plans to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts and “fire-and-rehire” practices had left many voters feeling “duped.”
Speaking ahead of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference, she warned that Labour had just one year to change course or risk losing union members’ support to rival parties.
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“They have one year to get this right because Nigel Farage is on their tail,” Graham said.
“Farage is not the answer, but he is a good communicator. And whether we like it or not, when he is talking about net zero, and about what has happened to communities and workers, people are hearing what Labour used to say.”
Graham said Labour had failed to back proposals to safeguard 30,000 oil and gas workers by investing in green energy transition jobs.
She has repeatedly pressed energy secretary Ed Miliband to support projects such as sustainable aviation fuels and wind turbine manufacturing, but said little progress had been made.
“Green jobs are not delivery workers on an electric scooter,” she argued. “I am talking about people in the oil and gas industry making the switch to green energy jobs.”
Graham also warned Labour against tax rises on workers in Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget, insisting the party should target the wealthiest households instead.
Echoing TUC leader Paul Nowak’s call for a wealth tax, she said: “If this keeps happening, the feeling that workers always pay, but they’re leaving the super-rich totally untouched – I think they won’t recover from it.”
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Unite’s growing frustration has put Labour’s funding at risk. Graham said anger among members was so high that a vote today on whether to continue donations would almost certainly block further financial support.
Earlier this year, Unite members overwhelmingly voted to suspend Angela Rayner’s membership after her stance on pay cuts for striking Birmingham bin collectors.
