大象传媒

Legal changes to the way Labour receives funding from the trade unions have been criticised by the party, which fears a drastic fall in its income.

The government's Trade Union Bill would require Labour-affiliated union members to opt in rather than opt out of paying a political levy as part of their fees.

The government is also planning to cut what is known as Short money, given to opposition parties to help with their parliamentary duties.

Shadow justice secretary Lord Falconer told the Daily Politics the changes were "obviously motivated by an attempt to reduce the amount of funding coming to Labour".