GMB helped found the Labour Party in 1900 to ensure workers were represented in Parliament. Our members understood a simple truth: if working people wanted better pay, shorter hours and safer workplaces, they needed political power as well as industrial strength.
That principle still guides us today.
Politics determines the laws that shape pay, job security, pensions, equality, public services and energy costs. If we are serious about improving members’ lives, we must organise where those decisions are made.
Why Affiliation Matters
GMB is affiliated to the Labour Party because affiliation gives working people influence, access and leverage. This is not about blind loyalty. It is about power. Through affiliation, GMB has a formal and democratic role inside Labour’s structures -including the National Executive Committee (NEC), Annual Conference and policy-making bodies. No other political party offers trade unions that level of representation.That means we help shape policy before laws are drafted, not after they are announced. We are not on the outside reacting to bad legislation - we are inside arguing for better ones.
Turning Workplace Demands into Law
Employment rights are not gifts from employers. They are won through political struggle. Through our relationship with Labour, GMB and other TULO unions helped build the New Deal for Working People, which delivered the Employment Rights Act 2025 - the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in more than fifty years.
Affiliation allows us to move from defending members case-by-case to changing the law for everyone. From the creation of the NHS and the Equal Pay Act to the National Minimum Wage and modern employment protections, progress has come when trade union members organised politically as well as industrially.
Support and Accountability
Affiliation does not mean silence when we disagree. GMB’s political strategy is clear: we support Labour when it advances working-class interests, and we challenge it when it falls short.
Because we are affiliated, our voice carries weight. Ministers listen because we represent hundreds of thousands of working people - not a campaigning organisation on the sidelines. Affiliation strengthens our independence by giving us standing, credibility and access.
Democratic and Member-Led
Our affiliation is funded through GMB’s Political Fund - a campaign fund democratically controlled by the union, not politicians. Decisions about political priorities are made through GMB structures and Congress.
In return, members gain:
- A direct route to influence national policy
- Representation inside Labour decision-making
- Support for GMB-backed candidates from working-class backgrounds
- A stronger union able to fight on both the industrial and political fronts
Only the Labour Party has a formal relationship with trade unions that gives workers a seat at the table. Employers organise politically. Working people must do the same. GMB’s affiliation ensures organised labour is never locked out of power - and that workers are not left dealing with decisions made without them.