Labour has been accused of being “under the thumb” of its union “paymasters” – as more than half of Keir Starmer's MPs have accepted donations totalling £1.8 million since the general election was announced.

More than half of Keir Starmer’s MPs accepted union money to support their election campaign.

213 of the 404 Labour MPs have received a whopping £1.8 million from union bosses since the election was announced in May.

This is the first time that the scale of trade union donations to MPs in the new government has been revealed. This led to fresh accusations last night that the Labour Party was “at the mercy” of its “paymasters” while being offered anti-inflation pay rises with no strings attached.

In addition, fears have been raised that pro-union laws – such as strengthening workers’ rights and repealing anti-strike laws – could be pushed through without much scrutiny.

Earlier, rail union Aslef announced a wave of new strikes on Friday – just 48 hours after it was offered a whopping 14.25 percent pay rise, taking the average train driver's salary to £69,000.

More than half of Keir Starmer's MPs (pictured) accepted union money to support the election campaign

Striking junior doctors hold a protest rally in Whitehall outside Downing Street on 11 August 2023

This means that the British are facing another autumn of misery, as border guards at Heathrow Airport have also announced that they will go on strike at the end of the month.

And teachers, general practitioners, junior doctors, nurses and other rail unions will apparently push for more money, even though they have already been offered large pay rises, adjusted for inflation.

The analysis shows that Labour MPs had accepted hundreds of thousands of pounds more in donations before the election was announced.

Former Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “This shows the worrying extent to which the Labour Party is under the thumb of its trade union donors.”

“Keir Starmer's MPs have pocketed nearly £2 million from the unions, while taxpayers are forced to fund Labour's inflation-adjusted pay rises to those same unions. How long will Keir Starmer continue to sell his influence in this way?”

Robert Jenrick, another Tory candidate for the party leadership, said: “Aslef has humiliated the government. It is the height of incompetence to give a 15 per cent pay rise without a condition that they do not then simply go on strike for some other reason. That is pathetic.”

Former Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “This shows the alarming extent to which the Labour Party is under the thumb of its union donors.”

His Conservative colleague Robert Jenrick said: “Aslef has humiliated the government”

Rail workers' union Aslef announced a wave of new strikes on Friday – just 48 hours after it was offered a whopping 14.25 percent pay rise, taking the average train driver's salary to £69,000.

“The unions can all put their money in the bank and they'll still go on strike. Now every other union has been given the green light to demand double-digit wage increases and then strike if they don't get them.”

Most Labour MPs who have received union money since the election was announced are newcomers to the party.

Among them is Liam Conlon, who raised £28,000 in donations, including £4,000 from Aslef.

He is the son of Sue Gray, Sir Keir's chief of staff, and was appointed parliamentary private secretary – or ministerial assistant – to the Department for Transport, despite having only been an MP for a few weeks.

Conlon's total was only exceeded by Claire Hazelgrove, the newly elected MP for Filton and Bradley, who received more than £33,000 from the unions Unison, Unite, Usdaw and GMB.

Jayne Kirkham, the newly elected MP for Truro and Falmouth, received £27,500 in donations from the CWU, GMB, Unison and Unite unions. Most of the donations went towards campaign expenses, but some also went towards office costs.

Liam Conlon collected £28,000 in donations, including £4,000 from Aslef

Cabinet ministers also cashed in, the analysis shows. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner accepted £13,000 in donations, including from the militant rail union RMT, while her cabinet colleague Jo Stevens, the Welsh minister, pocketed £8,000.

According to the analysis, cabinet ministers also cashed in. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner accepted £13,000 in donations, including from the militant rail workers' union RMT, while her cabinet colleague Jo Stevens, the Welsh minister, pocketed £8,000.

The amounts are detailed in the register of interests of MPs, which was published for the first time for the new parliament on Friday.

A separate analysis shows that Cabinet ministers have received over £500,000 in union donations over the past five years.

Of these, Ms Rayner has the largest amount – more than £144,000 since 2019. This came after it was revealed that the Labour Party's capitulation to unions' pay demands will leave Britain with a £14 billion bill – most of which will have to be footed by taxpayers.

Finance Minister Rachel Reeves had planned to allocate £10 billion to public sector pay rises.

But a devastating analysis yesterday found that looming rises for GPs, nurses, teachers and other workers could push bills up by a further 40 per cent, The Mail on Sunday reported.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves had planned to set aside £10 billion for public sector pay rises, but a devastating analysis yesterday revealed the bill rose by a further 40 per cent.

Last week, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh approved a 14.25 percent pay deal for train drivers over three years, without making any concessions on reforming the system.

Last week, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh approved a three-year 14.25 percent pay deal for train drivers without compromising on reform of the system.

Just two days later, Aslef announced further rail strikes on the East Coast Mainline between London and Edinburgh, leading to accusations that Sir Keir had lost control of his union “paymasters” just weeks after taking office.

Labour confirmed last month that it would renationalise the railways, reflecting unions' wishes for decades, and pledged to repeal anti-strike laws introduced by the Tory government to limit the impact of work stoppages.

Meanwhile, following intense lobbying by unions, a series of new laws are being introduced to protect workers, including abolishing zero-hours contracts and ensuring access to sick pay and other benefits from day one.

It also includes a new right for employees to “switch off” outside of working hours and not be contacted by their employer.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “All donations are declared in accordance with Parliament and Electoral Commission rules.”