By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 21:45 EST, 17 June 2012 | UPDATED: 21:47 EST, 17 June 2012


Fears of a split: Lord Mandelson (pictured) has called on trade unions to 'rethink and remake' themselves after accusing them of leading Labour down a 'blind alley'

Fears of a split: Lord Mandelson (pictured) has called on trade unions to 'rethink and remake' themselves after accusing them of leading Labour down a 'blind alley'

Lord Mandelson has accused trade unions of leading the Labour Party down a 'blind alley' that could trigger a return to the 'divisiveness' of the 1980s.

He questioned whether the biggest unions were properly representing their wider membership and called on them to 'rethink and remake' themselves.

Lord Mandelson was responding to attempts by union activists to expel a Blairite pressure group from the Labour Party.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said he wanted Progress –  funded by Lord Sainsbury, one of Tony Blair's biggest donors, and chaired by the key Blairite Lord Adonis – to be 'outlawed'.

Lord Mandelson told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 yesterday: 'We don't want to have a political party of intolerance, of renewed divisiveness, falling out and rancour of the sort that we saw in the 1980s. All of us want to put that behind us.'

He added: 'The trade unions need to rethink and remake themselves for a new century.

'They have to create a different relationship with their own members.'

He pointed out that Labour leader Ed Miliband had 'heaped praise' on Progress when he spoke at its recent conference.

In response, Mr Kenny said: 'This has nothing to do about expelling individuals or suppressing debate.'

Cracks emerging: Lord Mandelson was responding to attempts by union activists to expel Progress, a Blairite pressure group funded by Lord Sainsbury (left) and chaired by Lord Adonis (right), from the Labour Party

Instead, he said it was about a group funded by 'external vested interests' and without 'democratic scrutiny' trying to gain influence on candidate selection.

Workers who go on strike will lose the right to have their missed wages topped up with benefits.  Currently those on low pay – defined as anyone who earns under 13,000 – can get assistance if their pay falls below a certain level.

This is then topped up with benefits and tax credits.

Bosses will now alert tax authorities if the drop in pay is caused by a walkout and benefits will then be withdrawn under the new Universal Credit system.

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China, Brazil, India are on the up & up. What we have in this country, is a load of teeth grinding left-wing wasters, whose only aim is to get rich as soon as possible & bring down the country in the process. When will the voter ever learn?

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Rip Van Winkle has just woken up ! Does he not realise that his previous silence on this issue is what makes him and all the rest of the champagne socialists so odious.

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Help me.....over the last few days I have had to endure photographs and comment from Darling, Balls, Brown, Blair and now this ... I thought we had seen the last of them, they just don't get it.......GO AWAY....

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Personally I don't see how this man has the nerve to show his face in public. Talk about thick skinned. This is the guy whose untoward activities led to his having to resign twice, and now here he is posing as a fount of wisdom. The unholy trio comprising himself, Blair, and Campbell did more between them to damage and discredit politics than anybody else in living memory.

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The Union leaders seem to forget just how few people,t hey represent yet they hold massive power within the Labour Party and any Labour government. Milliband is a puppet and would be a huge danger to democracy. Madelson, I hatre to say it, is RIGHT.

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