Unite cuts Labour funding amid frustration with ‘centrist’ Keir Starmer
Party’s biggest donor warns leader not to move too far from the left

Unite has voted to reduce its funding to Labour as the union’s boss Len McCluskey warns Keir Starmer that moving Labour too far from the left may result in a further withdrawal of support.
At a meeting last night, the Unite executive agreed to cut its affiliation money to the Labour Party by about 10%, amid “anger in the union about Labour’s direction” under Starmer, the BBC reports.
And McCluskey, a close ally of former Labour boss Jeremy Corbyn, has hinted that “there could be further cuts in Unite’s donations should Sir Keir continue to tack to the centre”, says The Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The union chief told BBC Newsnight yesterday that “I have no doubt if things start to move in different directions and ordinary working people start saying, ‘well, I’m not sure what Labour stands for’, then my activists will ask me, ‘why are we giving so much money’?”
Unite is Labour’s biggest donor, handing the party and its MPs more than £20m since 2016. But fault lines have opened amid claims that Starmer is drifting “too far from the left-wing course” set by Corbyn, says the Daily Mirror.
McCluskey had previously threatened to cut Unite funding to Labour in protest against Starmer’s decision to pay damages to whistleblowers in the row over the party’s handling of anti-Semitism under Corbyn. Prior to last night’s executive meeting, the union chief said that “funding arrangements is undoubtedly an issue that may come up”.
He later told Newsnight that his executive was angry “because they thought it was an absolute mistake and wrong to pay out huge sums of money” in damages to the former staff members “when Labour’s own legal people were saying that they would lose that case if it went to court”.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs.
Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Cracks appear in MAGA's pro-Israel front
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the world watches a humanitarian crisis unfold across Gaza, some of Israel's most staunchly conservative defenders have begun speaking out against its actions in the occupied territories
-
5 cultural trails to traverse by car
The Week Recommends Leave the hiking shoes at home
-
Can Gaza aid drops work?
Today's Big Question UN's Palestinian refugee agency calls plan a 'distraction and smokescreen' as pressure mounts on Israel to agree ceasefire and fully open land crossings
-
Are we facing a summer of riots?
Today's Big Question Anti-immigrant unrest in Essex has sparked fears of a summer of disorder
-
Who stands to gain – and lose – from 16-year-old voters?
Today's Big Question Many assume Labour will benefit but move could 'backfire' if Greens, a new hard-left party or Reform continue to pick up momentum
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?
Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Mortgage reform: is Rachel Reeves betting the house on City rules shake-up?
Today's Big Question Reforms could create up to 36,000 additional mortgages next year
-
Corbynism returns: a new party on the Left
Talking Point Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's breakaway progressive party has already got off to a shaky start
-
Entente cordiale: will state visit help UK-French relations get over Brexit?
Today's Big Question The King, a keen Francophile who has a warm relationship with Emmanuel Macron, will play a key role in state visit
-
How will Labour pay for welfare U-turn?
Today's Big Question A dramatic concession to Labour rebels has left the government facing more fiscal dilemmas