Layton nixes cutting NDP ties to labour unions as party goes mainstream
Posted June 18, 2011 2:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Jack Layton says broadening the appeal of the NDP won’t involve cutting its traditional ties to the labour movement.
Indeed, the NDP leader credits the party’s tight relationship with unions for the historic gains made in the May 2 election.
Layton says it makes little sense to change a relationship that was responsible for the party’s founding 50 years ago and has been so integral to its success since.
The NDP vaulted into official Opposition status on May 2, scoring a record 103 seats.
Now New Democrats are meeting in Vancouver to plot how best to make the leap from opposition to government in the next election.
As part of the effort to broaden the party’s base, they’re debating later this weekend whether to drop the word “socialist” from the NDP lexicon.
