Thatcher Government wanted Labour's relationship with trade unions 'reduced out of all recognition' by 2000 He said the answer was "a trade union movement much reduced in size." Mr Mount added that the Conservative Party also wanted "a trade union movement whose exclusive relationship with the Labour Party is reduced out of all recognition." "Again it is absurd and unjust that millions of Conservatives, Liberals and Social Democrats should be supporting the Labour Party directly or indirectly," he wrote. His papers are contained in a file on Government industrial policy released today by the National Archives under the new 20-year rule. In the same file Norman Tebbit, the secretary of state for employment, wrote the time was ripe to review the operation of the Trade Union Act 1913 and "in particular to consult about ending the anomalous and increasingly unsatisfactory arrangements for contracting out of the political levy." He argued it was "absurd" that eight million members of unions were contributing to political funds, which was at odds with the actual voting patterns of members at general elections. In an odd parallel, the plans echo those of Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, who is currently attempting to distance his party from the unions. Last month Mr Miliband outlined plans to end the system which sees millions of union members automatically paying "affiliation" fees to the Labour Party and opting for a system in which they would have to "opt in" instead. He acted in response to a scandal which saw the Unite union, the party's main paymaster, accused of paying for people to join Falkirk Labour Party to give its preferred candidate a better chance of being selected.