Some Labour councillors, and some full councils, have now declared their support for the 30 November strike.
Labour councillors in Islington were lambasted by their Tory counterparts for supporting the strike, and a motion in support of the action was passed by Lambeth’s Labour council on Wednesday 9 November. The motion, which "supports local government employees in defending their pension scheme", was passed by a margin of 40 votes to 17, while a Lib Dem amendment which asked trade unions not to take strike action was voted down by 18 to 39. In Tower Hamlets, former Labour councillor Rania Khan (now part of an independent minority administration at the Labour-majority council) told a meeting of shop stewards on Tuesday 8 November that the council would put its resources at their disposal on the day of the strike.
Trade unions should demand that Labour Party MPs and councillors make good on such promises. Will the promised support from Khan amount to mere words, or will the town hall be shut and councillors on picket lines?
Some local Labour Parties, including CLPs in East Leeds and Enfield Southgate in North London, are organising support for the strike including pre-strike rallies and leafleting. Both Unison and GMB have produced model motions for union delegates to take to CLPs demanding that the Labour Party support the strike.
Support from the Labour Party could add significant political weight to the strike; the Labour-union link should be used to make sure that weight is brought to bear.
