Given it's a Labour Party affiliate which pays £40,000+ a year for the privilege, you might have thought ASLEF members would get representation at conference.

Sadly not. Keith Norman and the rest of the delegation were turned away from September's conference, having waited for four days to collect their credentials without success. It seems that the party's decision to take conference bureaucracy "in house" to save money has brought in a new wave of incompetence - "delays in processing applications" was the only excuse given.

The fact that the party machine never bothered to sort it out tells you a lot about how much New Labour cares about workers in affiliated unions being able to speak.

"We will be looking to the Labour Party to reimburse our hotel costs," says ASLEF. It is no doubt worth getting the money back - but getting in to conference, or even having a party leader who stands up for workers' rights and against privatisation, would be better reward for the union's support.