Labour warned it faces "ruination" over trade union funding reforms Ian Lavery, a Labour backbencher, today warned the party finances faced "ruination" as a result of Mr Miliband's "ill-thought through" reforms. "That would place the Labour Party in financial meltdown," Mr Lavery said. The GMB have agreed to change it from around 400,000 affiliation fees to 50,000 members. That's an income drop of £1.1m," he said. If other unions followed suit that could be somehwere in the region of £8-9m. I'm not sure the party could sustain such a financial loss," Mr Lavery, MP for Wansbeck and a former President of the National Union of Mineworkers, told BBC Radio 4. Mr Lavery said he was doubtful the shortfall could be made up with individuals affiliating to the Labour Party, as Mr Miliband hopes. "I'm absolutely positive there's not tens of thousands of people queuing up to join the Labour Party at this moment in time," he said. He added: "There isn't any future for the party or the trade unions if that link isn't stronger than ever." Asked about criticism from the GMB union, which pulled £1m from the party's funding last week, Mr Umunna said: "Change is difficult. Of course people are resistant to change. Change frightens people. That's a natural human instinct, but we have got to do this. Mr Umunna said Mr Miliband's reforms reflect the case that people are "more political than ever" yet are disillusioned by established parties. The Trade Unions Congress is meeting this week in Bournemouth. Ed Miliband will address the congress tomorrow. Frances O'Grady, the general secretary, is keen the meeting focuses on jobs and growth and is not overshadowed by rows over Labour funding. Last night Unison said it would cut funding to Labour by £210,000, reflecting a fall in its members who are affiliated to Labour from 500,000 to 430,000. The union said the move was party of a routine house-keeping exercise. Harriet Harman, the Labour deputy leader, will tell the TUC the party and the unions must "stick together." The Conservatives have been urged to capitalise on the dispute by offering free Conservative Party membership to trade unions. David Skelton, the director of Renewal, the campaign to broaden the Tories' base of support, urged the party leadership to tone down "red under the bed" rhetoric and to take adventage a gulf between the "militant" union leadership and the more conservative rank-and-file. "Conservatives should look to the example of Margaret Thatcher, who made "Conservative Trade Unionists" a thriving organisation, with around 250 branches," he said. There's no reason why such an organisation, with national and regional spokespeople shouldn't exist today.