Jeremy Corbyn’s key union supporter, Unite’s Len McCluskey, has told the Labour leader that victory in the general election means winning over the party’s traditional working-class supporters with a tough line on free movement of workers.

In a Guardian interview, the Unite general secretary said shadow cabinet members should not upset Labour’s carefully crafted Brexit position during the election and that he would oppose any attempts to extend free movement as voted for at the party’s annual conference in Brighton.

“We will have to see what’s in the manifesto but I don’t think [what conference voted for] is a sensible approach and I will be expressing that view,” McCluskey said, adding that he was keen to shore up the party’s support in marginal seats in the Midlands and north of England being targeted by Boris Johnson.

With the Conservatives seeking to make migration a key election issue, McCluskey said Labour needed to show how it was going to prevent pay and conditions from being undercut before it could consider relaxing its stance. “It’s wrong in my view to have any greater free movement of labour unless you get stricter labour market regulation.”

Unite is Labour’s biggest affiliate and will have considerable influence as the election manifesto is finalised over the coming days. Read more

Also Read: General election 2019: PM promises to end Brexit ‘groundhoggery’

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