'Unite are not looking for an apology' says Unite's Len McCluskey The head of the UK's largest trade union has warned that Ed Miliband has yet to "close the deal" with workers, days after it was cleared of vote-rigging in Falkirk. Len McCluskey, of Unite, said the opposition leader had a challenge ahead of him to convince working people that the Labour Party still had their interests at heart. Mr McCluskey also offered Mr Miliband some breathing space, suggesting Unite would not immediately follow the GMB path of withdrawing funding to the party. Asked if Unite intended to cut its affiliation funds, he said: "No. I understand exactly what Paul [Kenny, GMB general secretary] has done. Mr McCluskey who is a "close friend" of the GMB chief, said that Unite would "examine the proposals that are being put forward by Ed" before making a decision on party affiliation. He said, however, that GMB's decision to cut the donations it gives Labour from £1.2m to £150,000 from next year meant implications for all trade unions which "will have to examine where they stand in relation to the affiliation." The Unite chief, who has consistently said he welcomed Mr Miliband's suggestions to review Labour's relationship with the trade unions, added a word of warning, telling him to be careful what he wishes for. Mr McCluskey rubbished suggestions that the union had had a hand in determining the outcome of an international investigation by Labour into claims it had rigged the selection of a party candidate in Falkirk after demands were made for the report to be published. Instead, Mr McCluskey said there was no need for an apology after his party was cleared of any wrongdoing. Support He added: "As leader he will take us into our election and he will have my support and Unite's support to do that. He is the guy we support but his challenge is to make sure that Labour demonstrates to ordinary working people ... he still has to close the deal with ordinary people. "Unite are not looking for an apology, we want to move on now, it's time now to concentrate on the real things that matter to our members, which is what does Labour stand for, how is Labour going to be different from this government?" said Mr McCluskey. He insisted that under the guidance of its election strategy chief Lynton Crosby, the Conservatives were doing everything it could to smear Ed Miliband with the "trade union baseball bat." Mr McCluskey said: "We've got to expect this. As soon as the Conservative Party drafted in the Bush kangaroo Lynton Crosby we knew full well that their campaign was going to be dirtier, full of smears, more than normal. And they've hit on something that seems to give them an opportunity to hit Ed Miliband with the trade union baseball bat, and they want to create a division. Now it's our task to make sure we don't fall into those traps, so we're going to work to create unity in our party so we can take them on. However, in a perfect example of the challenge that lies ahead - not just for Mr Miliband, but also the trade unions - Mr Kenny said an apology was necessary. He described Labour's reaction in the wake of the Falkirk allegations as a "disgrace" and said Mr Miliband needed to acknowledge this. "I think the manner in which - the language that was used about trade unions, was absolutely appalling," said Mr Kenny. Apology If there is an apology owed - and I think there is - then the apology should be collectively to the trade unions. There needs to be a recognition. It doesn't need to be a public climbdown or humiliation," but he rebuked those "who went off with half cocked ... old attitudes." Mr Kenny also differed from Mr McCluskey's position on Labour's suggested reforms, showing the variety of opinion among the trade unions. He said that Mr Miliband's proposals had clearly not been thought through. Mr Kenny added: "I don't know where it came from. Frankly, I don't know if someone had a bad night out and dreamt it up because he obviously didn't think it through. The qualified support of the two union chiefs and their diverging demands to the Labour Party - outlined on Pienaar's Politics on Radio 5 Live - highlights the task ahead for Mr Miliband. Former home secretary David Blunkett said Mr Miliband's TUC speech marked "a critical juncture in his leadership." "This is Ed's chance to present himself as a relevant moderniser - and as a statesman willing to confront even the most difficult issues," he said. I support Ed and I admire the efforts he is making to drive the party into Downing Street. But, and I say this reluctantly, I fear those efforts will be in vain if he does not recharge our economic and foreign policies. There are just 20 months to go until the election - now is the time for him to display that courage and dynamism. Jeopardised If not, the entire Labour project could be jeopardised. So far, Mr Miliband has resisted calls for him to apologise to would-be Falkirk MP Karie Murphy, who has been reinstated to the party after an internal investigation cleared both her and the union of wrongdoing. It was a big climbdown as the party had initially referred to the police claims that Unite, its biggest donor, signed people up as party members without their knowledge to get its candidate picked. The ensuing bitter public row with Mr McCluskey pushed Mr Miliband to propose radical changes to Labour's historic links with the union movement and saw the GMB cut its affiliation fees by more than £1m. If others follow, the party will be left with a huge black hole in its finances. Investigation ** Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: "If Ed Miliband can't even stand up to his union paymasters, how can he stand up for hardworking people?" Mr Miliband wants union members to opt in to joining Labour rather than being automatically affiliated. Unions opposed to the reforms fear the changes will relegate them to "placard carriers and cheque writers." Union officials believe the reform will weaken the historic link between Labour and the unions, and even threatens to sever it altogether. When he unveiled the proposals, Mr Miliband said events in Falkirk represented "part of the death-throes of the old politics." Unite vehemently denied any wrongdoing from the start. Vindicated Mr McCluskey said Unite was delighted to have been "vindicated" over Falkirk and that it was time to "move on." He said he was happy to have a "proper debate and discussion" about updating the unions' relationship with Labour. But he warned Mr Miliband needed to demonstrate to both the unions and the working population that Labour was "on their side." "Obviously we are delighted that we have been vindicated," he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show. Right along we said that Unite had done nothing wrong and I'm pleased now that the Labour Party have actually indicated that no wrongdoing took place. So, it is time for us to move on from Falkirk and make sure that we are involved in uniting the party so that we can move forward. Mr Shapps said: "It's little wonder Len McCluskey's happy. Despite promising to tackle Unite's candidate selection rigging, Ed Miliband has caved in and cleared Unite of any wrongdoing in a whitewash. Ed Miliband's plan to put the sole decision over whether Unite donates to Labour in Len McCluskey's hands will give the union baron even more influence over Labour's policy, candidates and leader.