Whatever views there might be on the political levy, the Bill is most certainly not the way to deal with it. Members are perfectly entitled to withdraw their support from the Labour party, as I know many SNP members have done, but the Bill is not the way to deal with that.
As I mentioned, the strikers this afternoon were not involved in the sort of wildcat or intimidating protests mentioned by Government Members, but simply workers
with no other option. As others have pointed out, disorder is uncommon and can be dealt with by other means; there is no need for a specific trade union Bill. The Bill is absolutely wrong. I can think of no other way to put it. The Government need to take a step back, listen to the contributions of Opposition Members, think again and introduce something completely different that respects and moves the trade union movement forward, rather than using a sledgehammer to shut it down.
7.57 pm