THE chief of the GMB union has said the organisation's donations to Labour will be reviewed as members feel the party has "drifted away" since Keir Starmer took over.

Gary Smith, the newly-elected general secretary of the GMB, said the funding did not provide value for money as Starmer gets ready for the Batley and Spen by-election today.

But he said Labour's problems are "far more deep rooted" than its current leadership.

The Batley and Spen by-election was triggered when the region’s former Labour MP, Tracy Brabin, was elected West Yorkshire mayor.

She is now campaigning for Kim Leadbeater, whose sister Jo Cox was murdered in the constituency in 2016, to replace her as MP.

The ballot box race is seen as a straight contest between Labour and the Tories, with pressure mounting on Keir Starmer to hold the seat.

Speaking to the Daily Record, Smith said: “Bluntly it is Keir Starmer’s problem to sort out the Labour Party, not ours.”

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He said the GMB, which has ploughed millions into Labour coffers, had in the past been “too busy meddling in politics” and not clear about its purpose.

He went on: “I don’t think we are looking for political saviours and political superheroes. Our mission is for ordinary working people to get organised under the banner to change things for themselves.”

“We’ve got to face in to the fact that a lot of our members don’t vote Labour across the UK. We also need to face in to the fact that we organise in Ireland, where Labour doesn’t stand candidates. The union’s politics is going to have to reflect that reality.

“We’ve also got far less members who are now signed up to be Labour supporters ... again, we’re just going to have an honest conversation with the Labour Party about what that will entail in terms of funding and support.

“Our priority is not the Labour Party. Our priority is just getting our union growing and fighting over issues that matter to working people.”

Asked if the GMB got bang for buck with their donations to Labour, he said: “Definitely not.”

He continued: “We are not going to get a lot out of Westminster with a Johnson government that’s got the majority it has, and therefore we’ve got some tough decisions to take. Our membership at a UK level has been falling and we’ve got tough, tough decisions to take about how we spend our money. So every affiliation will be up for review - it’s not just Labour.

“We’re going to carry out a fundamental financial review and everything will be up for grabs within the union.

“Across the piece there is a feeling among people that the party has drifted away, and hasn’t talked about jobs and the real world experience of ordinary people.”

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SNP MSP Rona Mackay said: "This highlights the deep conflict at the heart of Scottish Labour's stance on the union.

"Anas Sarwar's party is funded by trade unions but many Scottish trade union members are in favour of independence. Sarwar is not even in favour of democracy, setting his party against the overwhelming mandate in Scotland for a second independence referendum.

"Too often, Labour have sided with the Tories against the will of the people of Scotland. It is an error of judgment that's been repeated by successive Scottish Labour leaders.

"It's no wonder the GMB is reconsidering its relationship with Labour – and they won't be the only union doing so either."

Labour refused to comment.