File of material concerning the balloting of trade union members to determine whether their trade unions should retain their political funds, mainly used to fund Labour Party, and the SDP campaign against the trade union levy as undemocratic, including:

• news cuttings and copied cuttings
• SDP press statements concerning the Party's campaign for a `no' vote on political levy
• SDP `no' vote campaign promotional packs including stickers,window poster and informational leaflets
• transcripts/press releases of speeches and statements made by SDP and Liberal MPs opposing the trade union political levy and advocating democracy in the trade unions, including statement by David Owen on democracy in the Trade Unions, 13 Apr 1985
• speech by David Owen on trade union ballot rigging, 11 Apr 1985
• copy of motion tabled by SDP and Liberal Party MPs calling for secret postal ballots for election of Trade Union executives and strike and political fund ballots, 2 Apr 1985
• and copy of David Owen's letter to Secretary of State for Employment, Tom King, criticising his statement that the ETU ballot rigging scandal of 1961 was a postal ballot, 16 Apr 1985, and copy of Tom King's reply.