The Fire Brigades Union’s campaign work has been given a massive mandate after over eight of ten firefighters backed the union’s political fund in a ballot.
84% of those who voted in the poll supported the fund’s continued existence.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “The vote shows that our members recognise that in the current climate, our political fund is more important than ever to our efforts to stand up for firefighters and the communities we serve.
“Politics is at the very heart of everything the FBU does, with firefighters currently facing two of the most significant challenges we have ever faced: government attacks on pensions and the worst cuts in the history of the fire and rescue service.
“This vote means for the next decade we can engage with politics and politicians on every level.”
Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, trade unions cannot spend money on political objectives unless they have been approved by a ballot, which must be held every ten years.
The fund is used to support lobbies of local councils, devolved government, Brussels and Westminster, to finance online campaign activity, produce reports, organise rallies and demonstrations and pay for leaflets, posters and petitions.
The fund also enables the FBU to organise its Parliamentary Group — a group of sympathetic MPs who can argue firefighters’ case in the House of Commons and elsewhere.
The union can also support candidates in local and national elections based upon sets of principles determined by FBU policy.
