d Miliband was forced to sit in silence as Britain’s most senior woman union leader read the riot act to him for trying to curb the power of trade unions over the Labour party.
Former dinner lady Mary Turner, president of the GMB, told him Keir Hardie, founder of the Labour Party, would be horrified by the way Mr Miliband was treating the unions. Mrs Turner, who once had her union’s name emblazoned on her arm, rounded on Mr Miliband at the party’s ruling national executive committee last week.
‘Keir Hardie would be turning in his grave if he knew what you were doing,’ Mrs Turner told Mr Miliband, according to witnesses. ‘You should be proud of the historic link with unions and fight to defend it.’
Witnesses say Mr Miliband was visibly shocked by the onslaught from Mrs Turner, whose union pays £1.4 million a year to Labour. Her attack followed his attempt to curb union influence after claims Unite tried to rig a Labour Parliamentary selection contest in Falkirk, Scotland.
Last year, Mrs Turner also gave Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls a dressing down for refusing to reverse George Osborne’s public sector pay hiatus.