ABSTRACT
In the branch, as at national level, the unions have the chance to take part in the Labour Party’s work. To all practical purposes the Party’s Constitution gives them the same rights as individual members. The branch can work through its union’s own constitutional procedures to determine the union delegation’s vote at the Party Conference. The formal link between the unions and the Labour Party is the branch’s affiliation to the local constituency. Constitutionally the unions should affiliate their whole political membership to their local Party. Sometimes Communist or Conservative branch officers are responsible for non-affiliation. The unions’ readiness to affiliate and send their delegates is directly reflected in the composition of the constituencies’ General Management Committees. Most of the branches’ political activities are tuned to the affiliation with the local Labour Party: the briefing of delegates, the report back, and the voting of resolutions for consideration by the Constituency Labour Party, Trades Council, or the union’s Executive Committee.
