Rebecca Long-Bailey vows to 'back workers in every dispute and strike' if elected Labour leader

Rebecca Long-Bailey has vowed to "back workers in every dispute and strike" if chosen to be the next Labour leader.



The Labour leadership candidate said she would stand with striking workers "no questions asked" as she vowed to make trade unions the "bedrock" of her strategy to win back Labour heartlands.

Mrs Long-Bailey also pledged that any government led by her would seek to boost trade union membership by a million during its first term in office.

Announcing the plans, the Shadow Business Secretary said the party needed a leader who was "as comfortable on the picket line as at the dispatch box".

Speaking at a rally in Sheffield, Ms Long-Bailey said: "Under my leadership, Labour will launch a mass trade union membership drive, supporting hundreds of thousands of young activists who have been inspired by our party to become trade unionists at work.

"Ensuring our movement's community and workplace organising go hand in hand, I'll also commission a trade union recruitment plan targeted in Red Wall seats in which we need to rebuild."

"Working people across all of Labour's heartlands, from the seats we lost to our city strongholds, face the same conditions of insecurity, informal contracts, and low pay.

She will add: "I would ensure the trade union movement grows by over a million members across a first term in government, as workplace freedoms, a Green Industrial Revolution, and our organising agenda reverses the long term decline. Without strong trade unions, we can't build a socialist future."

The leadership hopeful also vowed to implement pledges from Labour's recent manifesto to overturn laws which restricted secondary strikes, saying the document contained "the most exciting proposals in a generation" for workplace reform.

And she said as leader she would support workers against "unfair, exploitative and unjust employees" as well as in actions "opposing cuts, tackling the climate crisis, and standing up to the resurgent far-right".

It comes after Ms Long-Bailey vowed to end the '24/7 work culture' by banning emails being sent to workers outside of their contracted hours.

The leadership hopeful, who is currently second favourite behind Sir Keir Starmer, said she would empower trade unions negotiate agreements with employers to bring about the change.