The Labour Party is the political arm of the Labour movement. It was formed by the trade unions as their political force in Town , County and Parliamentary government. It would be difficult to separate them. It would also be pointless. because in spite of the snags it brings strength to both. Moreover both learned that electoral and legislative calamity was the price of the destructive indiscipline culminating in the winter of discontent, and the unions need now to learn that to demand a return to those bad old days will not only guarantee Labour defeat, but also to more draconian legislation.
Union leaders also need to remember and one or two of the leaders of the bigger unions especially need to remind themselves, that their jobs come with the burden of responsibility but not the gift of power. They are responsible for seeing their members get a decent employment terms and are well looked after when times get tough, but they cannot use their weight of membership to steer the democratic process at any level. That is for the Labour Party because it is that part of their movement which operates under the constitution in the political firmament. That is why the unions, or most of them, fund it.
The row in Falkirk is a weird throwback to times past which Unite cannot win. It can, and has already, inflicted great damage on the Labour party and it could even be sufficient to destroy the leader they chose. It could also be the making of him. Meanwhile the only gainers will be the coalition parties in England and the Scot Nats north of the border.
Nevertheless there is a serious point at the heart of the argument, set out by Tom Watson, who has just quit the Labour front bench because his office manager is the candidate Unite are apparently trying to shoe in to the vacancy. It is this. Labour, and indeed Parliament and the country, needs more ordinary working class candidates to balance the huge preponderance of Oxbridge career politicians on both sides of the House. This is not just because in a democracy all backgrounds need to be represented in the legislature. It is also because the so called elite in all the main parties have made a pretty good mess.