Ryan Bridge: Labour shouldn't automatically back the Unions

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Mar 15, 2026 · 2m · transcript

Last week ended with a bizarre situation where Labour effectively came out against a pay rise for teachers.

They did this because that’s what the unions wanted. And what the unions want, the unions usually get.

Union strategy 101 is getting everyone who’s not a member to become one.

The tactic is peer pressure.

If you can deprive non‑union members of a pay rise while dragging out pay negotiations, that’s leverage.

Labour last week got rid of Willow‑Jean Prime, who scored an F in the portfolio.

Ginny Anderson has been lumped with it at a time when National is seen, across a bunch of polls this…