Ed Miliband attempts to brush off union row ahead of clash with David Cameron

The Opposition leader will attempt to turn the focus back on the Tories after a week of damaging allegations about ballot-fixing in the Falkirk constituency.

Yesterday Mr Miliband set out radical proposals to end the automatic affiliation of union members Labour - a move that party figures acknowledge could cost it millions of pounds a year.

But Unite general secretary Len McCluskey confounded expectations of a furious showdown with unions by insisting he was "very comfortable" with the idea.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the plan as "a real act of leadership" and admitted that he should probably have taken the same step when he was in charge between 1994 and 2007.

Aides hope the dramatic intervention can drawn a line under the crisis that was sparked by revelations over union influence in local constituency selections.

'Bold and brave': General Secretary of UNITE, Len McCluskey has praised the Labour leader's vision

The Prime Minister capitalised on the row when the two men clashed in the Commons last week, repeatedly referring to Unite's payrolling of Labour.

But Mr Miliband has attempted to open a new front in the sleaze battle by declaring his intention to crack down on MPs with second jobs.

He said a Labour government would "at least" impose a limit on outside earnings - highlighting the number of Conservatives who continue practising law or working with businesses.

He also urged the resumption of stalled talks on party funding.

Downing Street dismissed the attack as a "smokescreen", and said Mr Miliband had not gone far enough to address the issues raised by the Falkirk row.

In his speech, Mr Miliband said events in the constituency represented "part of the death-throes of the old politics", and he hoped to usher in an "open, transparent and trusted" system which would engage more union members directly in the party.

Rather than being automatically affiliated to Labour unless they opt out of their union's political levy, union members should be asked to make an active decision to join the party by opting in, he said.

"I do not want any individual to be paying money to the Labour Party in affiliation fees unless they have deliberately chosen to do so," said Mr Miliband.

The Labour leader also announced plans to establish a code of conduct for would-be election candidates and to introduce primary elections for Labour's next candidate for London mayor.

Mr Miliband defended his choice of former Labour general secretary Lord (Ray) Collins of Highbury to conduct negotiations on the implementation of his reforms, which he said would be completed before the 2015 general election.

Lord Collins is a long-time union official, who as assistant general secretary of the TGWU helped create Unite as Britain's largest union - and Labour's biggest donor - through a merger with Amicus.

"You have got to have somebody who not only knows the party's finances, knows the way these things work and is in a position to deliver change," said the Labour leader.

"From my discussions with him, he knows the changes I want and he will help deliver it."

Mr McCluskey described Mr Miliband's speech as "bold and brave", telling the BBC: "It may well be a historic one if Ed's vision comes to fruition.

"He seemed to be saying that he wanted to see tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of ordinary trade unionists actively playing an active role within the Labour Party. That's something I very much welcome."

Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband-attempts-to-brush-off-union-row-ahead-of-clash-with-david-cameron-8699578.html

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