Now, some of you may be aware that I'm not the world's biggest supporter of unions and may be dubious about me being a member of one. Others may have astutely worked out from previous encounters that I am also not, never have been, and never will be, a member of the police. Putting both of these little nuggets of information together may lead you to think I have no right whatsoever to vote in this election.

You’d be right!

There is no way in hell I should have had the ability to vote in this election, and yet I have been able to do so. UNISON sent me not only the voting slip but a pre-paid envelope (and even a bloody pen!). Why did they send me this? Well… I can only assume the lady who used to live at my address was a member of UNISON. I guess no one has bothered to check on whether she’s been paying her membership fee lately… or noticed that she has been dead for well over a decade.

The serious point behind all this is as follows. Many actions that steer the future of nations are heavily influenced by unions. Devastating strikes (devastating to the workforce and the country as a whole) are acted upon after votes such as these. Yet these votes clearly have precious little security or monitoring to ensure their validity. My single vote will likely change little, but should someone with darker intent seek to manipulate a union election it seems he will be able to do so with little difficulty.

Unions, either get your house in order or keep you nose out of important business.