Political Parties and Elections Bill

The hon. Gentleman is on to a very important point, which was at the heart of why we failed to reach an agreement. The Labour representatives— the Justice Secretary and Peter Watt, who was then general secretary of the Labour party—would not contemplate a requirement for even an opt-out box to be on the application form. Will the hon. Gentleman confirm the other astonishing fact that emerged during our discussions, which is that even if someone manages to go the extra 10 miles and discover how to opt out, most unions will not let them pay any less money?