LTB 058/26 – SPECIAL REPORT TO CWU CONFERENCE: LABOUR PARTY RELATIONSHIP

[POSTMAN]

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LTB 058/26 – SPECIAL REPORT TO CWU CONFERENCE: LABOUR PARTY RELATIONSHIP
No. 058/26

27th February 2026

TO: ALL BRANCHES

Dear Colleagues,

SPECIAL REPORT TO CWU CONFERENCE: LABOUR PARTY RELATIONSHIP

As branches will be aware, the CWU’s affiliation to Labour has been subject to an increase in scrutiny and debate in recent months, given the issues with the current Labour government.

Although the government has introduced many positive changes, including the Employment Rights Act, it is clear that there have been too many mistakes, both political and legislative. These mistakes have given rise to Reform and the real threat of a deeply anti-union government taking shape in a few years time. This is therefore a crucial time to ensure that we are able to create an effective political strategy that reaches out to our members who have become disillusioned with politics and one that can fully exert our influence on the government to ensure it is working in the true interests of working-class people.

The wider movement, including the trade union movement, must also be able to recognise where we have not been able to connect with working-class people and why we need to build a more dynamic movement that can organise across sectors, particularly in the private sector.

This is a crucial political moment for all trade unions and their members. We must rise to the challenges we are facing to build political and industrial power for working people. This can only be done if our branches and membership have a greater understanding of the strategy the union is pursuing.

Therefore, it is within this context that the NEC has submitted a Special Report to our upcoming CWU Conference to enable a wider and more informed debate about the changing UK political environment.

The purpose of the Special Report is to lay out an assessment of the current Labour government and the next steps in the CWU’s continued affiliation to the Labour Party and in achieving the wider trade union movement’s political goals. This includes acknowledging the need for a clear change of direction, given the failure of the current labour leadership and a comprehensive, class-focused approach to resolving the political division that has spread across our society.

Between now and the CWU Conference we are committed to engaging with branches, reps and members on the content and direction set out in this report. This will include a briefing of all CWU branches, details of which will be sent out in due course.

The SOC will be issuing an LTB later today about how branches can submit amendments to this report and further details on how the report will be debated at Conference.

If you have any further questions, please contact the General Secretary’s Department at dlynch@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary

[POSTMAN]

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CWU-Motion to Amend-Form 2026