Union Members Are Abandoning Labour and Flocking to Reform

Labour is hemorrhaging support from union members under Keir Starmer’s leadership, new polling shows, with many flocking to Reform instead and some switching allegiance to the Green party.  

Members of trade unions are just as likely to vote Reform as Labour, a new survey has revealed.

The JL Partners poll for the Sunday Times surveyed members of 11 major unions and found that support for Labour has fallen by 20 points since the 2024 general election – with 62% agreeing that “Labour has lost touch with working people”.

The drop in support for Starmer’s party was particularly sharp at GMB, where 31% of unionists said they would vote Reform and only 22% said they would vote for Labour.

“Labour has abandoned the working class, and the working class have abandoned Labour,” said Sharon Graham, the leader of Unite. She added that the figures were “damning but not surprising”.

The poll also showed that support for the Greens among union members has more than doubled in two years, from 5% to 12%. 

Meanwhile, the number of members in post-industrial heartlands backing Nigel Farage’s far-right party has risen by 12%.

GMB secretary Gary Smith said: “Reform are no friends of voters. They want to cancel hugely important union rights and are targeting the pensions of the low paid. But Labour has to show working-class people it can be on their side.”

Graham said Unite members have left Labour’s side because of its plans to cut winter fuel allowances and benefits for disabled people, as well as its handling of the energy transition. 

Maryam Eslamdoust, leader of the TTSA transport workers’ union, said: “Labour must completely change course. Failure to do so will only open the door to a far-right government led by Farage.”