"In the UK, the trade unions formed the Labour Party..."  In the SA case, COSATU joined in with a ready-made group, which had in the main, only indirect connections with the labour cause.  ANC was essentially a traditionalist formation, with no working-class connections; even in UK the TUC did not ally directly with the Communist Party.  Perhaps that comparison lies at the root of much of today's disagreement.  Historically, ANC was close to the SACP in the "liberation" struggle, but the two still retained an arms-length relationship on many matters.