Nadhim Zahawi sent an email to the party’s registered supporters on Friday morning headlined ‘Labour’s Christmas Nightmare’
(Picture: Sky News)Conservative party chair Nadhim Zahawi has tried to boost Tory coffers by issuing a rallying cry to people to join the party to fight the wave of strikes hitting Britain.
In an email to the party’s mailing list on Friday morning headlined “Labour’s Christmas Nightmare”, the former Chancellor said joining the Tories would help stop union leaders undermining public services.
He added that subscribing would bankroll campaigns aimed at preventing Sir Keir Starmer, who is way ahead in the polls, leading Labour to victory at the next general election.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union blasted the email as “simply untrue”, while Labour said it showed the Tories have “no interest” in fixing the problems facing the country.
The email as RMT members started another two days of industrial action amid a long running dispute with Network Rail and 14 nationwide train operators over pay and conditions.
On Thursday nurses from the Royal College of Nursing went on strike for the first time in their history with a second walk out planned for next week.
In a series of walk outs being compared with the winter of discontent in 1978/79, mail workers, civil servants and ambulance staff are also set to strike over the festive period.
“We all rely on our public services and the people who keep them running,” Mr Zahawi said in the email. “The train drivers who get us to work. The nurses who keep our NHS going. The postal workers who deliver our presents in time for the big day.
“But when union leaders try to grind the country to a halt, it’s our job to stand up for hardworking people. We’ll always keep the dialogue open with staff. But we don’t think families should have to pay an extra £1,000 a year in tax to meet union demands.
An RMT spokesman said: "The union is not affiliated to the Labour Party and is representing some of the lowest paid workers on the railway earning £18,000 in this industrial dispute.
"It is simply untrue that Mr Zahawi and the Conservatives are putting the taxpayer first when they are using millions of pounds of taxpayers money to make sure the train operators are indemnified against any losses from strike action.
"The government should instead make every effort to assist in bringing the national rail dispute to a negotiated settlement, rather than hamstringing the rail industry from making a deal with the union."
Recent figures from the Electoral Commission showed Labour’s coffers had been boosted by a significant increase in donations in the three months to September.
While the Conservatives brought in almost £3million, Sir Keir’s party attracted £4.7m.
Labour said the boost in donations was a sign that people were treating it as serious contenders for power at the next election, expected in 2024.
But Mr Zahawi tried to link the strikes with Labour, saying the party relied on funding from the big unions.
The Electoral Commission figures showed the party received £1.6m in trade union donations between July and September this year.
Sir Keir has found himself in an awkward position on the strikes: on the one hand sympathising with workers demanding higher pay at a time of soaring inflation while on the other urging Labour MPs not to publicly back the strikers by joining picket lines.
He has instead tried to focus attention on the Government’s failure to find a negotiated settlement with unions.
Turning his attack on Labour, Mr Zahawi wrote: “There’s a reason we’re the only party standing up to the unions. We put hardworking taxpayers first, Labour MPs join picket lines.
“And while we rely on supporters like you, Keir Starmer relies on funding from the unions. With your support, we can stop union leaders from putting their man in Downing Street.
“Just by joining the Party today, you’re helping us win elections and deliver on the policies that matter to you. That’s because every penny of your subscription goes to funding our campaigns.”
Responding to Mr Zahawi’s email, Anneliese Dodds, Labour Party Chair, said: “Rather than trying to resolve the disputes, the Conservatives are using them as a way of drumming up funds from their wealthy donors.
"Everyone trying to get to work today, trying to post Christmas presents or missing operations in the NHS, will now know that Rishi Sunak has no interest in fixing these problems but wants to sow further division.
"The government needs to do what it has refused to do - get round the table and enter proper negotiations, to bring these disputes to an end."
Asked earlier on Sky News whether a Labour government would give nurses a higher pay offer, she said: "We would be talking with them about the right settlement to be reached, one that works for public finances, that works for the health service, that works for patients, and that works for the staff within it."
